SGV
by Ithileon
Summary: The rift was created, and on that day, the Ori were born. And so were their brethren the Ilvar. Now one of their children wanders among the Tau'ri in search of her place. This is her story.
1. Chapter 1

SG-V

Year Unknown

Strange noises filtered through the darkness. The creature squirmed in its round prison, listening. A similar round thing was next to the creature's, and there was something inside it. Curious, the creature tilted the round walls, rolling until it bumped the side of the other object. The second round thing tilted the same way, then slammed the creature's ball, knocking it back.

Something from the outside approached, and the creature curled up in a submissive pose. So did the other, albeit reluctantly. The first sensed the reluctance of the second, and became uneasy.

"I don't understand. How can there be two?" something snapped. The creature tilted its head, curious again. The other twitched, irritated.

"There can be only one queen." A different something replied, touching each round thing. The creature flinched back, but the other hissed and lurched forward.

"This one appears to be stronger." The first noise, a low noise, said.

"Then it is this one who will stay." The second, slightly higher noise continued. The ball moved. The creature closed its eyes and eventually fell asleep.

1994

It looked like one of those days. Erica Evans _had_ been eating breakfast, nursing a cup of coffee, when Tyler walked into the kitchen, grabbed a muffin, and walked back out.

Curious, she followed him to the doorway, watching as he opened the van's middle door and started talking.

"Here ya go! I'll be back with something to drink in a minute okay?" He ran back to the house and said, "Hi mom."

"Tyler who were you talking to?"

"The girl in the car."

Erica looked back to the van and did a double-take. A small hand reached out, took the muffin, and pulled back

As Tyler dashed back out with a glass of water, Erica put a hand on his shoulder.

"Can I meet her?"

"I guess so, but she's kinda shy." Tyler said with a shrug, carrying the glass back to the van.

"I'm back! And I brought my mom. She's really nice!" Tyler said rapidly, putting the glass down within the girl's reach. Erica bent over to see inside the van. A small girl with fair skin and red hair curled into a ball against the other door. Her blue eyes were widened in fright.

"Hello." Erica said softly, bending her knees to reach the child's level.

"Hi."

"Are you okay honey?" she asked, looking intently at the poor little girl. She looked tired and upset.

"Go back in the house Ty. We'll be right behind you." Erica ordered. Tyler pouted and stomped back to the house.

"It's not very comfortable outside is it?" she continued, the little girl slowly shaking her head.

"You want to come in?"

She shook her head faster.

"Why not?"

"Not s'posed to talk to strangers."

Erica was impressed, most kids would talk to anyone who was friendly towards them. Suspicion quickly followed, what had happened to this girl to make her so distrusting? And how could she change that?

The solution was so simple, she almost laughed out loud.

"What about police officers?"

The girl nodded slowly, still a little stand-offish. Erica called Tyler back out to keep her entertained (and in the van) while she dashed back inside to grab her badge, giving Joe a quick explanation and asking him to set an extra place at the table. Then she ran upstairs.

_This won't require FBI. She's just a kid who got lost._ Erica thought.

The front door closed. Joe looked up and was surprised to see Tyler holding a little girl's hand. She was looking around curiously, eyes moving from object to object, until they rested on him. She cringed into Tyler's side before hiding behind him.

Tyler on the other hand didn't seem to notice, turning around and saying, "This is my dad! He's nice too."

Thankfully Erica came back downstairs, as their temporary houseguest looked ready to scream.

Joe grabbed Tyler's hand and walked him to the bus stop, leaving Erica and the girl alone. With a pad of paper on the table and a pen ready to take notes, she made sure the badge was clearly visible before asking questions.

"What's your name?"

The kid said nothing for a minute, before answering, "May, Clan Lamont."

Clan Lamont? What did that mean? Erica asked, and little May was off, trying to explain what a clan was. In the end she described it as, "either one big family, or a bunch of little families that are all related somehow."

Not bad for a kid. Erica smiled a bit before continuing, "And how old are you May?"

"It's not polite to ask a lady their age."

Erica chuckled, "That's true." She lowered her voice, "But I think it's only true if a guy asks. We're both girls though."

May just stared at her for a while before whispering, "Four." Then she grabbed the muffin on the plate in front of her and took a huge bite out of it.

After a few minutes, Erica managed to learn the names of May's parents, their addresses, and phone numbers. This didn't bother Erica too much, maybe her parents were divorced. Then May started crying and said they were found by the bad men.

Mother's instinct and FBI training competed for dominance in Erica's mind, eventually compromising with, "What bad men?"

May told her story as best she could, despite the continued crying and stuttering. From what Erica could understand, May's father had reported something to the police, then when he got home he said something to her mom and they started packing. They'd moved somewhere they were told they wouldn't be found, May didn't go to school, her parents didn't go to work, and then the bad men showed up.

Her mom woke her up in the middle of the night, told her to get dressed, and sent her out the back door. May said she hid just behind the tree line, heard three loud noises, and watched the house catch on fire. After that, a car drove away, and May started running "to where the moon came from" and didn't stop until she'd seen the van, climbed inside, and fallen asleep.

_Great, this _does_ need the FBI!_ Erica thought, irritated inside. May just sat and watched her as she made a phone call and refilled her coffee cup. It was gonna be a long day.

"Are you mad at me?"

Erica jumped; she'd forgotten May was still sitting there, looking upset and scared. And now that she was paying a bit more attention, she noticed May's clothes were wrinkled, her hair was a frizzy mess, and there was little (if any) color in her face.

"No honey, I'm not mad at you." She still looked unhappy, so Erica continued, "How does a warm bath sound? Then you can have some real food, instead of that muffin." The last part was muttered in an undertone, a bigger breakfast might help her feel better. And maybe a nap.

"Okay." She hesitated. "But, my clothes . . ."

"My son is about your age, I'm sure he's got a couple things you can wear."

If May had any problems with wearing a boy's clothes, she didn't show it, other than blowing a raspberry. In the end she just grabbed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt with a dragon on it. Erica could almost hear the screaming fit Ty would throw once he saw someone else wearing _his_ dragon shirt.

While May was getting cleaned up, and having fun with the soap if the splashing was any indication, Erica got a call from the FBI. She asked if somebody, preferably a woman, could come to her house and question May again, and then run the information through the Witness Protection Program. Then she looked at the small pile of clothes May left by the bathroom door, reaching into the pockets of the pants and pulling out a small roll of cash. In one pocket she found a couple twenties. There was a fifty in the other.

Erica was stunned. A kid couldn't understand how to make that much money last. She decided to keep it separate until a good explanation came to mind.

She could hear a few words coming from the bathroom, "You can go your own way . . . you can call it another lonely day . . ."

Four years old and a fan of rock and roll? May Lamont was full of surprises.


	2. Chapter 2

**I can't believe I forgot this first chapter. Considering where V left off, honestly, humans don't have a prayer. After the first season of V, I got into Stargate SG-1, and throughout the second season wondered how to bring SG-1 into the action. And since there is no cross between them, I decided to write one myself. Hopefully I won't offend any fans of either series.**

**General disclaimer on my profile.**

After being questioned again, and the answers checking out with the Witness Protection Program, Erica was not a happy woman. In fact when Joe came home she asked him to watch May for a couple hours while she got to the bottom of things. Needless to say a lot of people were terrified by the time she was done ripping them.

After that was a trip to both the original house where May lived, then the safe house. The first house was fine, cleaned out and had since been bought. The second was a disaster. What had once been a proud, if average, house, was now a smoking pile of debris. Nothing but charred wood and twisted metal survived.

Erica was close to tears when something small caught her eye. Lying on the ground close to the sidewalk was a simple silver ring with a blue stone. After picking it up and the whole team taking a look at it, they agreed it could have been thrown out the window. Erica pocketed it.

Something rubbed against her leg. Startled, the blonde jumped and looked down, noticing a smoky grey cat standing next to her. May hadn't mentioned having any pets, but maybe she forgot to mention it.

She picked up the cat and looked it over. He was fine if the purring was any indication.

"I don't know where he came from, he just showed up." One of the firemen said, giving the cat a curious look. "He just walked out of the woods, saw us, and started purring."

_Interesting._ Erica decided to get back home before all hell could break loose. She put the cat on the floor in the back of the car and drove home. May was still asleep when she got there, curled under a blanket on the couch. The grey cat joined her immediately, purring like a motor.

The little girl woke up, put both arms around it, and went back to sleep, cat still purring.

"Did she wake up at all?"

"She did once, just to go to the bathroom. Came right back down and fell asleep again. Should we wake her up?" Joe asked, throwing a concerned glance at the little girl and . . . the cat?

"Where'd the cat come from?"

"According to the Fire Department, he just showed up. Walked out of the forest and started purring once he saw them."

"And you think it's her cat?"

"She might have forgotten about it. It's got a collar on, so it must belong to somebody."

"Uh-uh. I don't want a cat in the house."

As for the cat, he just listened from the couch. May on the other hand, now fully awake, stared at the cat in confusion. It wasn't her cat. Did it belong to the nice lady who let her stay here and get cleaned up?

The silver tag hanging from the blue collar read _Wuji_ in elegant script. On the reverse side was an address.

"It's just for the night, in the morning we can find out where it lives and take it there."

"Then he's not yours?" May asked, Wuji just hanging limp in her arms.

The two adults looked at her.

"No. I thought he was yours."

"Nope. He's a pretty kitty. I hope somebody misses him, it's not fair to be alone."

Erica gave Joe a smug look, thinking she'd won.

"You're explaining the dragon shirt." Joe said, and the smugness slid off Erica's face.

"I guess I'll go get a can of cat food." He continued, grabbing the keys to the van. Wuji continued to purr, paws dangling off the ground. As soon as the van was out of sight, May put the cat down. Wuji didn't wander far, preferring to stick to her, rubbing against her legs.

"His collar says Wuji, and there's an address on the back."

"He certainly is friendly." Erica commented, getting a small plastic container out of a cabinet. She could hear the bus coming down the street. Praying there wouldn't be a fight about this, she quickly explained to May that Tyler might not be thrilled with someone wearing his favorite shirt, but since May was a guest, he'd just have to live with it.

The boy in question tore into the house, stopping dead when he saw the gray cat and May wearing _his_ dragon shirt.

"That's my shirt! Give it back!" Tyler demanded. When May shook her head, Tyler ran upstairs.

_It's not over yet._ Erica thought, head in her hands. Sure enough, Tyler came thundering downstairs with a red dragon. He called it a statue; Erica said it was a figurine.

He ran up to May, shoved the dragon in her face and snapped, "Give me my shirt back or face my red dragon!"

May's eyes narrowed. She pushed the dragon back and spat with just as much venom, "Should I be scared?"

Tyler looked stunned; _I thought girls were afraid of dragons!_

Erica was impressed, she'd never met a girl who honestly liked dragons. Well, maybe she just wasn't scared of them, and by extension Tyler, who was acting like one. She turned her attention back to May in time to watch her draw herself up to her full height (about the same as Tyler's) and intone, "This shirt is mine by right of conquest red dragon. If you don't want to be banished to the Abyss, leave this place, and perhaps the gods will show you mercy."

Right of conquest?

Tyler half bowed, tilting the dragon's head forward as well, and said quietly, "Yes priestess." Then he went back upstairs.

Priestess?

"What was that?"

"The Abyss is where evil things go. I think they die there."

_Lovely._ Erica thought. At the mention of something dying, May's eyes started watering. Erica hugged her, Wuji just rubbed against them both and purred.

Dinner was quiet until Tyler just had to ask, "You like dragons?"

May glanced up at him, thinking hard. "Yeah I like dragons! Dragons are awesome!"

This didn't bother Erica, since she'd seen May get Tyler to back down. What did surprise her was the fact May had a little bit of everything on her plate. If she liked it, she asked for more. If she didn't, she ate what she had and said nothing.

Joe on the other hand was a little surprised.

Tyler's eyes were huge. "What's your favorite dragon?" Inside he was thinking a good dragon, because girls never seemed to get in trouble.

"The black one."

Tyler's jaw dropped. _Black dragons are evil! The most evil of all dragons!_

"Close your mouth sweetheart." Erica said, rolling her eyes. Joe chuckled.

May just smirked, almost as scary as the toothy grin of the black dragon. Tyler shuddered.

Later that night, after the kids had gone to bed, Wuji paced the floor and observed the two humans still sitting at the table.

"What now?"

"In the morning I'll see who the cat belongs to, and I'll take May with me."

"How long will May be staying?"

"You're okay with this?"

Joe nodded, "I think Tyler would benefit from having a sibling, even if it's only temporary."

"Good. I think she'll be here for a while anyway, at least until we get some things worked out. Besides, where else can she go?" Erica replied, reaching into her pocket, "That, and I found something at the safe house, well what was left of it, and I think this is hers." She placed the ring on the table.

Wuji stopped licking his paw and stared at the ring with glowing amber eyes. His gazed flicked toward the stairs before returning to the object on the table.

Joe looked at it then back up at Erica, "And it's not evidence why?"

"It doesn't appear to have been damaged at all, and could have been tossed out a window. There is nothing salvageable from that house Joe. To the rest of the world, everyone in that house died last night, and May will need a new identity. Again. At least until we can find a suitable person to look after her."

After a little more discussion, where she would sleep, when to go shopping, would she go to school with Tyler, among other things, the two adults went to bed, leaving Wuji alone downstairs. He jumped onto the table, looking for the ring. When he didn't find it, he paced upstairs and into the guest room, curling up at the foot of the bed.

"Here kitty, kitty." May whispered, draping an arm over the grey cat when he walked over and lay down next to her. Within a few minutes both were asleep, the human dreaming of betrayal and fallen kingdoms.


	3. Chapter 3

Around nine the next morning, Wuji got hungry and started nudging May to get her attention. She was slow to wake up, looking confused at the large bed and strange walls. May had been dreaming of strange things, the last two things were a three-pointed star and a huge black monster with forward facing horns.

Then the events of the last two days came rushing back and she burrowed under the covers to cry. Only when the sobbing abated did she get up, Wuji leaping off the bed and following her.

"Morning sweetie." Erica greeted, grabbing a plate and a cup from the cabinets. Placing them on the counter she turned and asked, "Are you hungry?"

She took one look and knew May had been crying, so she hugged her. Wuji stared at her, as though waiting for something.

"I miss Mommy and Daddy. They said they would come back, but they didn't say when." She sniffled. "Mommy said if something happened to her, I was supposed to take care of her ring. Do you know what happened to it?"

Erica stared at May's huge watery blue eyes, and thought, _Ah what the heck._

She put May in a chair and headed upstairs, coming back down with something in her hand, which she showed to May.

"This is the only thing that wasn't destroyed in the fire." Erica explained. May took the ring with trembling fingers. Wuji sat up straighter in anticipation. For what, Erica wasn't sure, but it probably didn't matter. The girl stared at the ring, knowing somehow it was too big for her to wear, but if she had a chain, it could make a good necklace. She put the ring down and stared at her empty plate, asking if they had poptarts.

After writing down the address on the back of Wuji's tag, Erica put May in the front seat of the van. Wuji jumped into her lap, nuzzled her face, and started purring. Erica rolled her eyes and slid into the driver's seat. May couldn't see out the window so she watched the power lines, absently stroking the grey cat in her lap. The cat's owner lived in the Brooklyn area, in a modest two-story house. The front porch had a swing and the door was flanked by a pair of cat statues, one black and one white.

At least, Erica thought they were statues, until one yawned and the other blinked. As she parked the van in the driveway, the cats turned as one and stared. May was bouncing in her seat; this house was where the kitty lived! Wuji was getting annoyed by the movements and jumped into Erica's lap instead. If the van wasn't already parked, she would have rear ended the blue car already in the driveway.

Wuji stared out the window at his two companions. They stared back. Erica opened the door and was about two steps behind May as she ran up to the door and greeted the other two cats. Shaking her head at the little girl, she rang the doorbell, praying she wouldn't trip over one of the cats.

A young woman answered the door, glancing at May and the three cats.

"May I help you . . . ?"

"Agent Evans, FBI. Is this your cat?"

"I think you're home now Wuji." May whispered, scratching his ears. The grey cat purred, while the black cat stretched out in a patch of sunlight and the white cat nudged May's other hand.

"That's Wuji." The woman sighed, opening the door and inviting them inside. Two of the cats ran in immediately, while May picked up the black cat and carried him inside. He growled, but calmed down when he was plunked into another patch of sunlight. Purring loudly, he moved his head along the carpet and May saw the silver tag on his collar. _Yin_. The white cat was chasing a catnip toy around the room. There was a yellow ribbon tied to it. Her tag flashed in the light as she ran by. May thought it read _Yang_, but wasn't sure.

In the other room, Erica was in interrogation mode. After getting the name and occupation of the woman, the FBI Agent asked if she knew the family who had gone into hiding a few weeks prior.

"I did know them." She replied, "Such a young family. The wife was interested in Wicca, as was the father and daughter. They came to Elysian Fields one day a few weeks ago to look around. May was taken with my cats, who adored her in return. They followed her around the shop, meowing and purring and acting like kittens."

Erica looked confused, "Wicca?"

"A small nature-based Neo-Pagan religion. Elysian Fields is a shop that caters to us." She paused as the sound of footsteps came from upstairs.

"You have children?"

"Twins. Molly and Morgan. They've been sick for a couple days, and when I checked an hour ago Molly still had a fever and Morgan had the sniffles. Am I allowed to ask questions or am I under investigation?"

"Your cat was found near the burned-out safe house where the Lamonts were living. He was very friendly and I thought maybe he belonged to them. No you aren't under investigation." Erica replied, hoping she could remember all this. "Well, I'd better get May and head home."

What she found in the next room was the most adorable thing she'd ever seen. May was asleep in a square of sunlight streaming through the window, Yin on her left, Yang on the right, and Wuji sprawled out on top of her. The three felines opened their eyes and stared as one, daring her to come closer. Erica could almost hear them say, 'You want her? You go through us.'

After getting May off the floor and getting the address of Elysian Fields, Erica decided to see if the woman's story checked out. The store was open and they walked in, May rubbing her eyes before darting off to look at a few silver necklace chains. After asking the clerk, and later the manager, a few questions, she found May clutching a silver chain and a fat white pillar candle, and she was using the puppy dog eyes.

Erica caved, and the two walked out of the store with May's purchases and a few answers.

Three Years Later

A look in the Evans household three years later would find a small family just enjoying life. May's hair was a little longer, her eyes a brighter blue, and she tore after her brother fully intent on murdering him.

"Tyler you incompetent little slob! Give me my dragon!"

Erica's face was hidden behind her hands; Tyler had probably gone too far this time. Not two minutes later her adopted daughter tackled her son to the ground, yanked the silver figurine out of his hands, and stomped back to her room. Tyler just breathed loudly, thinking he was in the clear . . . until he saw his mom at the table.

"Aw man!"

"Tyler!"

Upstairs, May replaced the dragon next to its companion on top of her bookshelf. She had two at the moment, one silver, the other black. The two dragons flanked the white candle, which was shorter now but not burned out yet. She waited for the yelling downstairs to stop, glancing at her library. A dictionary, _The Hobbit_, _The Chronicles of Narnia_, and a couple of _Calvin and Hobbes_ books occupied the shelves, she hoped to get the sequel to _The Hobbi_t next time they were in a bookstore, but Erica insisted she wait a year or so, explaining it was a bit too violent and hard to follow. To which May shrugged and replaced it.

She grabbed _The Magician's Nephew_ and began to read through it again, while Joe came home and rounded on Tyler after hearing what he'd done this time. May fiddled with her mother's ring, watching the light play off the aquamarine stone.

_No. It's my ring now. I've got to remember that._ She thought, heading downstairs. Tyler had been grounded (again), and glared at her from the couch. She'd tried to tell him that if he was going to try something stupid, _not to get caught!_ She also heard low murmuring from her parents in the kitchen, but couldn't make out much.

"Been three years . . . Kendrick thinks . . ."

"She's happy here! Why the-"

"I don't like it either! But if they can't find her they might give up." Erica sighed. "We'll tell them in the morning."

May slipped up the stairs with the ease of a hunting cat and got ready for bed. What did her parents have to tell her? Why did it have to wait until morning? She decided to wait up until they went to bed, reading her books as the hours passed. Well, pretending to read them anyway. Eventually her parents walked upstairs and into their room. May kept to the shadows and crawled to their doorway, waiting.

"In the morning we'll start looking for relatives." Erica sighed, sounding miserable. "They've already started compiling a list, and a good number of them can't be easily reached."

"We'll do what we can. Maybe we could remind them we adopted her." Joe said, in a tone that would have smart people backing down.

The sound of crying was all that came out of the room after that. May went back to her room and grabbed a notebook. She had a letter to write.

**Elysian Fields is a real store, located in Brooklyn. As for the letter May plans to write, you'll find out who it's for next chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

May didn't sleep well that night, and come sunrise it showed. She was still rubbing her eyes when she paced downstairs and slumped into her chair at the table, wondering if her mom felt like this every morning.

Tyler stumbled downstairs a few minutes later, tripping over his own feet and kissing the floor. May snorted, amused.

"The floor thanks you Tyler, for being so nice to it."

"Shut up!" he snapped.

"Tyler," Erica's warning preceded her downstairs. Joe wasn't far behind, and the first thing he did was start making coffee.

"Morning sweetie."

"Morning Mom."

"We've got something to tell you."

By this time, Tyler was sitting at the table next to May, and both kids were staring wide-eyed at Erica. Joe took a large gulp of coffee and launched into it, "Mom's boss thinks it might be safer if you if you live with a relative May."

Tyler didn't appear to understand, his sister looked eerily calm. To Joe, this could mean two things: she already knew, or Paul Kendrick was a dead man. On second thought, maybe she already knew, _and_ Paul Kendrick was a dead man.

Erica muttered under breath, "Nice." Louder, she continued, "They've started looking for relatives already-"

"And Mum's relatives are citizens of the Crown, and Ireland, and Dad's only suitable relative is a second cousin right?" May interrupted, mentally cursing her adoptive mother's boss and wondering if she could meet the guy.

Stunned, Erica sputtered, "H-how?"

"When I was three, my parents took me on a, well, sort of vacation . . ."

Flashback:

_They were meeting in a school cafeteria, filled with people. Lots of people. They were all talking and the noise was bothering her. She raced through an open doorway to find a quiet place. Sitting in the empty hallway, next to a vending machine, was a man with long hair and glasses. May thought he looked a bit like a hippy._

_The hippy-dude was surrounded by papers, and he was writing on a pad in his lap and scratching things out. May watched him a few minutes before turning around and going back to find her parents._

_Hippy-Dude didn't show up when the people, relatives of her dad according to him, sat down to eat. After wolfing down everything on her plate, May excused herself and went back through the food line, grabbing a little of everything. She left the plate just inside the hallway and grabbed a cup of ice water, then carried it to the edge of the half-circle of papers. She did the same with the plate, and ran back to get a napkin. Once his "place" was set, May cleared her throat to get Hippy-Dude's attention. Not expecting anyone, he jumped and slammed his head into the wall behind him._

_While he rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head, May had made an icepack out of napkins and ice cubes. She waited to be acknowledged so she could give him the icepack._

"_Wha'cha doin'?" May asked, glancing at the papers._

_Hippy-Dude gave her a confused look before saying, "I'm working on a theory," then glancing down at the plate sitting next to him, "Is that for me?"_

"_Yep."_

_He stacked his papers up and moved them to the side, grabbed the plate and started shoveling food into his mouth. May went to find her parents._

"_Daddy there's a guy sitting out in the hall working on some theory."_

_Her parent jumped up and followed her._

"_Daniel?" her dad asked._

_Hippy-Dude looked up, surprised. "Richard?"_

_May glanced at her mother, confused. "This is your father's second cousin, Daniel Jackson."_

"You have family who don't think you're nuts?" a stunned Jack O'Neill asked a few days later and several hundred miles away. Daniel glared at him, holding a letter in one hand. The other was clenched into a fist on his desk.

"It's not funny Jack. Richard's in-laws live in the UK; contacting them and eventually transferring May's guardianship would require a lot of paperwork, a passport, and a visa."

"Daniel, what are you talking about?"

Daniel sighed, apparently jumping the gun . . . again. Smoothing out the letter, he read aloud, "Dear Cousin Daniel, despite your crazy theories, I need your help. In case you didn't know, I've lived with the Evans family for the past three years. Mom is an FBI agent, Counter Terrorism Division. According to her boss, I'd be safer living with a relative. Mum's closest family lives in the UK, and the paperwork alone would be complicated, never mind actually getting me there. That leaves you. I'm pretty sure they'll do a background check on you and you should get a letter from somebody in a few days. Beyond that it's kinda up to you. I guess I wouldn't mind living with you, but if I ever meet the guy who decided this, I'll make sure he needs a doctor. Bad. May, Clan Lamont."

"Well written for a kid. How old is she Daniel?" Sam commented after a minute.

Daniel checked the date, "She'll be seven this year, but I never did learn when her birthday was."

Sam took the letter and started looking it over, picking things out that seemed important.

"She wrote Mom and Mum in the same letter."

"That's what she called her mother when we met four years ago. Mum is her birth mother, so Mom must be Mrs. Evans." Daniel explained.

"Her, mum's, family lives in England?"

"And Ireland, Scotland, and Wales."

"What makes you think that?" Jack interrupted.

Annoyed, Daniel replied, "England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales are part of the United Kingdom. The rest of Ireland fought for and gained independence from the British."

"If she's been living with the Evans family this long and been fine, why does Agent Evan's boss think she'll be safer with a relative?" Sam continued.

"That, I don't know. The fact she's living with a different family means something happened to Richard and Cassidy three years ago."

"The background check might be a problem, considering how most people will agree your theories are crazy and won't want an innocent kid believing them. That and you vanished for about a year, only getting back up to speed and getting an apartment once you came back." Jack said. Then he added in an amused voice, "I'd like to see this kid send a grown man to the doctor."

Daniel rolled his eyes.

"I don't know about this Daniel," Sam began, still scanning the letter, "SGC might be safer than other Earth bases, but with the Stargate . . . I don't think it's a good idea to raise a child here. What if we're out in public she blurts out something important? If nobody believes her she'll be ridiculed, and if even a few people believe her we'll be in a lot of trouble."

"What if you went home every weekend Danny Boy? That way the base would be kid-free for a couple days." Jack suggested, hands behind his head and staring at the ceiling.

"On the other hand, seeing her around might remind people what we're trying to protect." Sam went on, "But Hammond might not like it. She's right Daniel, it is kinda up to you."

"And us and the general and maybe the president-"

"Shut up Jack."

"What do you think Teal'c?" Sam asked. The Jaffa had been silent up to this point, sitting in a corner with his arms crossed.

"I cannot say CaptainCarter. If DanielJackson wishes to raise his younger cousin, it is his choice."

Jack clapped his hands and said, "Can't argue with that."

"Maybe we should talk to Hammond-" Sam began, only to be interrupted by Daniel.

"I think we should wait for the official letter first, that way we have something credible to fall back on."

"Like this one?" Jack held the official-looking envelope. Daniel snatched and held it like it was a bomb. Dropping it on his desk, he grabbed a letter opener, and started reading. The color seemed to drain out of his face with every word. Finally he thrust the letter away so the others could read it.

Back in New York, May was sending her mom's boss a glare that could melt steel, before hissing, "What did you send my cousin?"

Erica stood well away and observed her boss get scared by her little girl. Paul's answer started out strong –with just a little bit of arrogance- but May's expression didn't change. Erica hid a chuckle as her daughter turned a grown man into a stuttering fool. When Paul's face turned pale, Erica steered May into her office and burst out laughing.

"Are we done?" May asked tonelessly. Erica shivered, the humor gone. Then she sat down and explained what Paul thought was a good idea. So far they knew how much education Daniel had, what his job was, did he have a house, ect. In other words, could he take care of a child? Then she mentioned the issue of money and knew Paul had gone too far; May looked ready to spit fire. Before she took May home, the little girl sent Paul another glare, and he almost ran to his office.

_I'll get you back for this one day._ The redhead thought, stalking out behind her mother. "Can Daniel take care of a kid Mom?"

"Well, he's a linguist and an archeologist, and he's employed with the Air Force working out of Cheyenne Mountain, that's near Colorado Springs, he does have an apartment, and he does make enough to support himself and you. The problem is he might not be home a lot. We'll have to wait a few days for a response okay honey?"

May nodded, placated for the time being. Absently, she twisted the ring, suspended from a silver chain around her neck. She wanted to live with Daniel, she really did, she had this feeling awesome things happened when he was around. The previous day she'd dragged her mom to the library to research Clan Lamont and how to contact them. Lamont was her Mum's maiden name (whatever that meant), so if Daniel did adopt her she could let them know she was alright. If they cared enough that is. Her mother wasn't sure how many Lamonts there were, and a good number of them could have changed their names. She was ready to send that letter or one requesting advice if Daniel didn't adopt her. Meanwhile she waited anxiously for his reply, which came a couple days later:

_Working on it. Hang in there kiddo._


	5. Chapter 5

**For those unfamiliar with either show, both Stargate and V have their own Wikipedia branches: ****.com/wiki/Stargate_Wiki**** and ****.com/wiki/V_Wiki**,** so check them out. Both series are out on DVD (not sure about Blu-Ray), with episodes of Stargate SG-1 also available on . Time wise, it is 1999 or Season 3 of SG-1.**

**Nedy Rahn: Yes it is the latest version of V. I've seen the 80s version too, and the political allegory ran thick. That and the special effects weren't good but hey! It was the **_**80s**_** for crying out loud!**

**Major Simi: Thank you. I plan on it.**

**stark40763: Right now I'm just hoping (and praying) there will be a season 3.**

**jojobevco: Your review made me think some. It's not really SG-1 without somebody to fight is it? So, I altered this chapter with you in mind, I actually wasn't planning on introducing a Visitor until later. This also makes it a legitimate crossover, with something between Vs and Goa'uld. Definitely some animosity there.**

Daniel went back and forth on adopting his cousin for a long time (on and off for about two years), finally working something out with Hammond and the rest of SG-1. That being he could go home every night, but on weekends and school breaks May would have to come with him. And since it was summer, she would have to live at SGC with him. Great.

Picking her up had been no problem; all her things, clothing, toys and books, all fit neatly into two large suitcases, except two books and a stuffed animal she kept with her. He'd met her family at the airport, where Agent Evans had all but officially interrogated him, her husband Joe had calmed her down, and their son Tyler complained and wanted to go home. May just watched him curiously; he'd _finally_ gotten a haircut!

Several hours later, the archeologist and his now jet-lagged cousin stepped off the plane in Colorado Springs, catching a taxi to Cheyenne Mountain. The nine-year-old didn't say much, merely observed as Daniel pointed out a few things.

"And this is the Stargate." Daniel said proudly, gesturing to the huge metal ring with strange glyphs around it. May blinked, how much weirder was this going to get?

Then the gate started spinning and spit a blue fountain of something before becoming flat and somewhat calm. A small vehicle came through first, followed by two armed men and a woman. May listened with vague interest as Daniel explained what the M.A.L.P. did, who had just returned, and where they had come from. What he couldn't explain though was the large green . . . rock? The team had brought with them. The, rock, was left in a lab to be analyzed later.

Daniel left her sitting in the control room while he went to talk to the rest of SG-1. May glanced at the rock, curious. She thought she saw it twitch. Maybe rocks moved on other planets?

She sat next to Daniel at the debriefing where she met General Hammond, Samantha Carter, Jack O'Neill, and Teal'c. After exchanging curious looks with Teal'c, her thoughts returned to the rock.

The planet everyone but Daniel had visited was quiet, forested, and hot. Apparently it was summer there too. From what little they'd seen, no humans, Jaffa, or Goa'uld lived there. The only thing that didn't fit in was the green rock they found, so they'd brought it back to be examined.

Getting bored, May slid out of her chair and left the room while Daniel fired off questions at a mile a minute. Eventually, she found the room where the rock was supposed to be, but she knew this was not a rock. It was an animal. And it was moving.

The thing uncurled itself and rolled over, stretching. May stared, a little unnerved but still thinking _This is awesome!_

Its body was green and wasp-shaped, it had four legs, a long tail with a serrated tip, thick neck and round head with sharp needle-like teeth and cat-eyes with white pupils (V fans, think Mother's Day). It blinked, taking in unfamiliar surroundings, sounds, and scents until its gaze landed on the other living thing in the room. The two stared at each other for a long time before the creature yawned widely, unhinging its jaw in the process, curling back up and going to sleep.

May watched it for a few minutes before leaving the room, digging through her bags for something to eat. She found a couple small bags of peanuts. It wouldn't feed a creature that size, but it might help for a while. The animal stared at the small pile of nuts on the floor in front of it, glancing back up at May as though for clarification.

May ate one of the peanuts, slowly so the creature could understand. It swallowed the pile of nuts whole and gave May an expectant look. She sighed and left, wondering if there was a vending machine around here. She did go back later with a bottle of water, leaving within the animal's reach.

The next few days Daniel explained about all the planets he'd been to and all the different people his team had met, forgetting sometimes he was talking to a nine-year-old. He also explained what a Jolinar, a Klorel, and a Skaara were. She was allowed to sit in on mission briefings so she had some idea of where Daniel and friends were going, what they were doing and why, but she wasn't allowed in debriefings. She asked about that later. Once the day's "lesson" was complete, May would tell her friend the alien.

She decided the alien was some kind of lizard creature. It swallowed food whole, didn't eat again for a few days, looked for warm spots to rest in, and made weird hissing noises when upset or angry. Like when she talked about or mentioned the Goa'uld. Heck, it snarled whenever Teal'c was nearby. Like today, when Daniel brought the rest of SG-1 into the room where May was talking to what had been a rock.

"Hi Daniel." May greeted, the lizard extending its neck and sniffing in Teal'c's direction. Focusing on his symbiote pouch, it growled loudly enough to be heard. The symbiote poked its head out, tore through Teal'c's black shirt and gave a defiant cry of its own. The two glared at each other for a few minutes, at least, May thought the symbiote was glaring, she was too focused on its four pinching jaws.

She scratched the lizard's head to try calming it down. It leaned into her touch but continued to growl. The symbiote hissed, clicking its four jaws. Apparently insulted, the lizard's eyes lit with unholy anger and it shrieked loudly enough to shatter the window on the door.

Finally, Jack voiced the thoughts of almost everyone, "What the hell?"

**And now I'd like some advice. The Alterans split into two groups: the Ancients and the Ori. Now there are things I dislike about both groups, but much of the symbolism to come, and May's character development are dependent on the following: Should there be a neutral group of Alterans? Leave your thoughts in a review or PM. I look forward to seeing them.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Well, I'm definitely liking the feedback. And I thought nobody would like my stories.**

**Jojobevco: It's just for school breaks. A nine-year-old wouldn't blabber as much as a four-year-old, or even a seven-year-old. May knows how to keep a secret; she already has a couple she hasn't told Daniel yet. As for the sentient creature, they thought it was a rock. Bit of a surprise for them wasn't it?**

**Major Simi: And the lizard against junior.**

**Stark40763: Yeah it would be. Blue energy vs Goa'uld weaponry. They might want to stay inside or well out of range of the explosions, but it would make for one heck of a fireworks display. Too bad I won't have this up by the 4****th****. **

Turns out Goa'uld and strange alien lizards shouldn't be in close quarters. Ever. By mutual consent, Teal'c and the lizard (May called her Delta) avoided each other. Delta often hissed what sounded like "Threvast" whenever Teal'c did cross paths with her. May guessed threvast was her species' word for Goa'uld. Teal'c agreed.

SG-1 and May had gone back and forth as to why there was such animosity between the two, they only had theories (competition over food and territory, failed attempts to make the lizards hosts) but no real answers, and they weren't enough for the rest of the base. Delta was taken home by SG-1, leaving May alone again. Sure she missed her friend, but now there was something else Daniel had to worry about. Having a nine-year-old on base wasn't _so_ bad, she listened, kept quiet and generally stayed out of the way, but it was her summer vacation and she had nothing to do. And bored nine-year-old inside the most top-secret military base on Earth spelled trouble in _any_ language.

Thankfully his friends were more than happy to help out, and May accepted them as family. It even got to the point where everyone on base called her SG-1's little girl. Whether it was meditating with Teal'c (she got the hang of it eventually), Sam teaching her math (they were covering multiplication tables), or debating with Jack over the finer points of . . . whatever they debated the finer points of (it was Star Trek last he'd heard), the girl was kept educated and entertained. Most of the time. And then she wanted a movie night. So the team set aside time over the weekend to watch a movie or a television show that lasted an hour. May had a wide set of interests, from supernatural (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed), to science fiction (almost anything with the word star in it), or shows from when they were children (except Teal'c) (The Addams Family, Looney Tunes, and Tom & Jerry). However even with all the ways they kept her entertained, sometimes May became withdrawn and only spoke with her Hobbes, watching them all with clouded worried eyes.

And then everything went to hell.

Somebody had a bad night and Hobbes was destroyed by an unstable vortex. When May entered the room, she noticed a button on the floor by the ramp, saw the active wormhole, and made the connection immediately. She went through the gate ignoring Walter screaming at her to stop.

May flew out the gate on the other side and landed roughly. Coughing, she looked around, noticing a tropical or jungle-like landscape. Hobbes was nowhere to be seen. He was gone. Who would she talk to now? She cried for a little while, until the grasses in front of her started rustling. May stood up, ready to bolt if need be, but calmed down when she realized it was only the wind. She sat next to the Stargate and waited for somebody to come get her, because she still didn't know Earth's dialing address.

_I went through the Stargate. Daniel's gonna kill me!_

The wind picked up again, revealing a well-worn path through the trees. Now May was a good girl, and if good girls got lost, they stayed in one place until a grown-up they trusted could find them. But May was also a kid, and kids were allowed to do some crazy things that grown-ups couldn't because they were too mature. Daniel, Aunt Sam, Uncle Jack and Uncle Teal'c did a lot of crazy things and they mostly got away with it (until Dr Fraiser got a hold of them). Besides she was already here.

"I won't go far." She told herself, and started down the path muttering, "Boldly going where no man, or little girl, has gone before."

Back on the base it was chaos. Walter, panicking, had run all over the place trying to find Daniel. He found SG-1 in the briefing room and yelled, "May's gone through the Stargate!"

The four of them were off world in record time, leaving a visibly angry Hammond shout at Walter for not stopping her.

It was a panicked Daniel that ran full tilt through the Stargate, just barely stopping himself from screaming. Jack, Teal'c and Sam were right behind him, ahead of the M.A.L.P. but not caring too much. As SG-1 argued over what had happened and why, Sam stepped on something small, round, black, and shiny.

"What's this?"

"That's one of Hobbes's eyes." Daniel replied, taking it from Sam.

"Okay, so where's the rest of Hobbes?" Jack inquired. They weren't looking for Hobbes, they were looking for May. Who usually had Hobbes with her. _Shit!_

"It appears he was either thrown through the Stargate or destroyed by an unstable vortex O'Neill." Teal'c said.

"And since all that's left is this button, I'd say it was the vortex." Sam added.

Daniel put his face in his hands and muttered, "Agent Evans is gonna kill me. This is my fault."

"How is this your fault?" Sam demanded, while Teal'c explored the edge of the clearing.

"We got back late from our last mission and she fell asleep in my lap. She must have dropped Hobbes somewhere."

"But who would just vaporize a stuffed toy like that? May hasn't done anything wrong; she's with one of us most of the time."

"MajorCarter, there is a path here." Teal'c interrupted. The small trail was slightly damp, revealing small footprints. They followed the path through the trees and out of sight.

"She went this way?" Jack asked, confusion bordering anger, "Why would she take some random path through the woods on another planet?"

"Because we have?" Daniel replied. When all he got were looks, he elaborated, "Sometimes you just point in a random direction and start walking. Of course we didn't plan on her going through the 'Gate at this age, if at all."

"Alright people let's go. We've got a kid to find." Jack snapped, leading the way. Nobody spoke, but Daniel kept thinking, _Please be okay._

May had wandered into another clearing, where two things drew her attention: a wooden flute, just lying on the ground, and a big grey rock. She leaned against it, rubbing her tired feet. The rock was cooler than the planet's muggy air. She nodded off and dreamed of dragons. The D&D kind, because they were awesome.

_The ring._

May started awake and jumped, looking for whoever had spoken, but she was alone in the clearing.

_Touch the symbol with the ring._

"O-okay." She replied, but thinking, _What symbol?_

A triquetra formed on the face of the rock and May _knew_ it hadn't been there before. She pulled her necklace from beneath her shirt and touched the ring to the symbol. Both ring and symbol glowed, activating the gem, and May backed off, picking up the flute as she went. The light from the rock faded, but the sky was lit by an aurora. May rubbed her eyes, shocked at how sharp her vision was. She heard Uncle Jack shout, "What the hell!" and thought SG-1 couldn't be too far away, but it was fifteen minutes before they ran into the clearing and the aurora had faded.

May hid the ring under her shirt again and waited to be noticed (and grounded). Of course Daniel saw the carving on the rock and was off on how significant it could be. She snorted, _What am I, chopped liver?_

Aunt Sam had the same mindset. "DANIEL! We're looking for May, you can play with the rock later!"

_Glad _somebody_ cares. _May sat next to a tree trunk and looked at her ring. It didn't look any different, but something had changed.

While Daniel looked ashamed, he noticed a tennis shoe out of the corner of his eye.

"Hi Daniel." The next thing she knew Daniel was hugging her, apologizing rapidly, and choking off her air supply.

"Daniel, can't breathe!"

"Sorry. Are you okay?" Daniel asked.

"Am I in trouble?" May countered.

"Well that all depends-"

"Shut up Jack. Kind of. Why did you go through the Gate?"

"I saw one of Hobbes's eyes on the floor and thought he'd been thrown through the Stargate, but he's not here." May answered sadly. Hobbes was her friend and the only connection to the Evans family.

Sam searched her pockets but couldn't find the button. She nudged Daniel who searched his pockets and found it.

"Hobbesie." May looked miserable. Daniel kicked himself, did she really need to be punished for this? May tried to rescue a toy, and she had heard stories about various SG team members going out of their way to help one another.

Jack mumbled darkly, but May did hear him mention heads rolling and digging a grave.

_Look out Milky Way, here comes Jack O'Neill._ She thought, burying what was left of Hobbes. Picking up the flute, she got to her feet and prepared to go home, a little surprised when Sam said, loudly because Jack was still mumbling, "Well since we're here, we've found May, and she's fine, it wouldn't hurt to look around some would it?"

At Daniel's hopeful expression Jack caved, "Alright Danny Boy. But not for long." He wanted May back home as soon as possible. At the moment she was clinging to Sam, needing to hug somebody. Daniel was off again, wondering about the symbol, having no idea what it was called, but he knew he'd seen it before.

"It's a triquetra, an old Celtic symbol. And it's the symbol for the Charmed Ones. But it wasn't there before." May explained, rubbing her eyes.

Now everyone was looking at her. Daniel, confused, asked, "When you came through the Gate, what happened?"

"I looked for Hobbes, didn't find him, the grasses moved, I saw the path, followed it, found this," She indicated the wooden flute, "Fell asleep, woke up, and the symbol was there." Then she looked at the stone, now forming runes beneath the symbol.

"Uh, Daniel? What's that?"

Daniel looked at the runes and read them out loud, " 'We are the Ilvar.' "

"The who?"

"I don't think it's the band Uncle Jack."

Sam snickered, "I love your cousin Daniel."

"So do I." the archeologist mumbled, observing curiously as his cousin looked at the message, seemingly memorizing each glyph, before looking at Daniel and demanding, "Teach me!"

Daniel looked thrilled at the prospect of a willing student, while Jack looked horrified, saying he couldn't handle two geeks. May looked offended and said she was a nerd thank you very much, Sam started laughing and Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

Once they got back, Hammond yelled at almost everyone, but left May's punishment up to Daniel, as he was her legal guardian. Pretending to find something boring, Daniel started teaching her Goa'uld and giving her short pages to translate. But an angry Hammond was nothing compared to the chewing out Janet gave them, a tirade that would probably become legendary and had May upset before the doctor had even glanced at her. Making sure the girl was physically fine was rather difficult, considering she wouldn't let go of Sam and was eying Janet the way one watched a vicious animal.

"You can let go of me now kiddo, she's not gonna hurt you. Right Janet?" Sam asked, both of her legs were falling asleep.

"Not on purpose." Jack said, earning him a glare from Daniel.

Sam faced him slowly and said, "Sir, with all due respect . . . shut up."

"You do have all her records sorted out, right Janet?" Daniel asked.

Janet suddenly looked tired, "Yeah, I finished last night. You should be fine May, but there are a few things I'd like to check okay?"

"Okay."

"You guys can go." The sarcastic 'yeah right!' look Jack gave her in response spoke for all of them. Sighing, Janet gave in. She did check a couple more things that seemed odd: her vision and hearing seemed sharper than normal. She glanced at her young patient and asked as calmly as she could, "While you were off world, did you eat, drink, or touch anything?"

"I picked up a flute and fell asleep against a rock."

"Is that all?"

"Well a triquetra formed on the rock after I woke up, and I touched my ring to the center." May paused, as if remembering. "And then the rock and the crystal on my ring glowed, the sky turned pretty colors and Uncle Jack said a bad word."

The good doctor turned to Jack and mouthed behind her hand, 'You're next.'

"I thought it was an aquamarine." Sam objected. She'd seen May's ring before. The gemstone was a periwinkle color, slightly darker than an aquamarine. So why was she calling it a crystal?

May blinked, confused. Her mother told her the gemstone on her ring was a crystal hadn't she? Or was it the rock? She _really_ needed a nap. She missed the looks the adults exchanged, from curiosity to concern.

"Should we ask to look at it?" Sam whispered, glancing repeatedly at SG-1's little girl.

"Carter it's a ring! Her parents were civilians so how could they get hold of alien technology?" Jack hissed.

Teal'c and Daniel said nothing. The Jaffa knew it wasn't a control crystal, it was too old. His symbiote shivered; unlike the confrontation with Delta the lizard queen, where the two were close to equal, whoever made this crystal was either more advanced or more powerful than Goa'uld. Daniel was thinking back; the few times he had seen Richard, they shared ideas that would be considered insane. The few times he'd seen Cassidy she had seemed, highly intelligent, was in great physical shape (Richard had mentioned more than one honeymoon), and always wore the ring, but she had also seemed ethereal, otherworldly. As though without Richard and May she wouldn't be there. At times he thought she had a subtle point to her ears, he'd see them out of the corner of his eye as she read _The Hobbit_ to her daughter. But when he looked more closely, the point disappeared. Clearing his mind, he looked at his cousin, about to fall asleep sitting up.

"Nap time kiddo?" A huge yawn was his response.

"She's okay Daniel. Take her to her room and come back here." Janet said, a little surprised to see May had curled up and fallen asleep on the examination table. And she didn't wake up until late the next morning, something Janet was actually grateful for, considering what happened to the guy who destroyed Hobbes. The General, Walter, and every member of SG-1 joined forces and chewed him out.

The crystal glowed softly, resting against her skin, playing a history of her mother's people:

Many millions of years ago, in a different galaxy, lived a race known as the Alterans. Differences in philosophy cause them to split into three groups: The Ancients, who came to favor science and technology; the Ori, who came to favor religion; and the Ilvar, who overly favored neither, but fused both. The Ilvar were peaceful unless provoked, and mediated arguments between their fellow Alterans, no matter what group they belonged to.

Unfortunately the rift between the Ancients and Ori grew to the point of no return. Fearing their destruction was imminent, the Ancients left their home for a new galaxy, followed by half of the Ilvar. Eventually the three groups gained strange powers: their minds, bodies, and senses were stronger, more developed than today's humans. They had perfect health, could heal others by touch, and had visions that seemed to always come true. The Ilvar found they could step back from their visions and learn the context surrounding it.

Each group then Ascended, leaving their bodies behind in favor of living as energy on a plane of great knowledge and power. Two of the three groups created an evolution of humanity in their own image (which the Ilvar greatly frowned upon).

She wouldn't remember her dream the next morning, when she woke up feeling better than she had in a long time, but it would return later.


	7. Chapter 7

**This chapter takes place mostly in the episode Counterstrike. As I said in Chapter 5, May's character development depended upon the presence of neutral Alterans. The Ancients don't show up enough to serve a purpose there, but the Ori's crusade does provide an outlet for half-Ilvar May.**

May grew up under the watchful eyes of SG-1, and Janet. By sixteen she could speak all branches of Gaelic, Ancient, and the strange hissing language that Delta spoke, known jokingly as parseltongue.

Daniel thought she might take after her mother, and she did, especially after that accidental trip off world (now called Hobbes's Planet). She climbed up the rock and left the chain on the top, but when she got down she looked different. After a trip to the infirmary confirmed that yes, the rock had somehow changed her DNA, Janet preached for days about the dangers of touching unknown pieces of technology. May rolled her eyes when the doctor's back was turned and mouthed 'blah blah blah'. Jack couldn't stop the amused snorting, prompting Janet to check him for upper respiratory problems.

One look at May confirmed that neither she nor her mother were completely human. May looked like an honest-to-god (Middle Earth) elf, from build and grace, to pointed ears and bluish-green eyes. In addition to her appearance were the perfect health, heightened senses and intelligence, and occasional vision, usually manifesting as a dream or randomly spacing out. Combined, these traits meant she wasn't often allowed off base, which she soon came to resent.

At the moment, Daniel and the thief Vala Mal Doran were stuck in the infirmary after getting beamed off an Ori ship. Surprisingly, she and Vala hit it off, trading amusing stories all over the base. If the former host thought her appearance was strange, she didn't say anything.

Daniel was worried again; Vala did a lot of traveling when she was a thief, and stories of travel reminded his cousin that she had been stuck underground since she was nine. Eventually she would feel trapped and do something insane. In order to keep that from happening, he decided May could tag along the next time the _Odyssey_ went somewhere, provided she remained onboard. Teal'c and Sam agreed, Cam was a little reluctant, and Vala was ecstatic.

Onboard the Odyssey:

"Where are you going?" May asked, bored.

"To check out the Ori ship before they come back." Daniel replied, knowing what would come next.

"Can I come?"

Yep he was right. She didn't often ask to accompany SG-1, and when she did, the M.A.L.P. was sent first. So far all they encountered were lizards like Delta. They were friendly, though wary of Teal'c, and Sam too oddly enough.

"I'm already here and the ship's empty." She reasoned.

Daniel crossed his arms, "And how will you keep from being seen?"

"Like this." May replied, ring flashing and then she was gone. Daniel gaped. "May? Where are you?"

"I'm right here." And she was visible again.

"Okay then."

_I hate crazy loyalist Jaffa_, May thought, standing invisible in a corner while four Jaffa pointed weapons at Daniel and Vala

"You're making a big mistake. More Ori ships will be here soon." Daniel said, Vala nodding beside him. May rolled her eyes, it would take more than that to reason with them.

"And they will suffer the same fate."

"I think not." A new voice replied. May blinked and glanced at the doorway, barely flinching when the Jaffa were telekinetically choked to death. What caught her attention was the person who entered the room after the Jaffa hit the ground.

Uncle Teal'c said the enemy was lead by a young woman of extraordinary power, but he didn't say how young. She looked eighteen, maybe nineteen, with strange orange eyes. Orange eyes that flickered like fire.

"Adria?"

"Hello Mother."

Daniel pointed a Zat at her, and in return Adria immobilized and pointed a staff weapon at him.

"Okay, we all know darling that you have telekinetic powers you can stop showing off now."

_Get off of him._ May snarled. Adria blinked, and refocused. The staff weapon clattered to the floor.

"I've missed you mother," Adria began, stepping around the bodies, "They said I should forget about you. That you'd abandoned me because you didn't care."

"No." Vala said, hoping May didn't explode over this. May seethed; the Ori twisted their followers, twisted their daughter, and told her to forget her own mother.

_They're _so_ dead._

"I knew you'd come back for me."

"How is it that you're even alive? Everyone else on the planet was killed."

"I was saved by this," Adria touched the pendant around her neck, "It contains a piece of the holy city of Celestis. It protects me, keeps me safe."

"Oh." Vala looked uncomfortable.

"Soon the other ships will come for us. And once we're back with the fleet, I promise you Mother, we'll never be separated again."

Vala still looked uncomfortable with her (almost) fully grown daughter hugging her. May snickered from her corner and Vala stuck her tongue out, forgetting she wouldn't see it.

Adria's eyes flicked to the corner where the sound was coming from, pinning May in place. Seeing through whatever hid the girl, the Orici noticed a few things that set her apart. Fair almost luminous skin, pointed ears, bright turquoise eyes, and a silver ring set with a crystal of the same color, part personal shield, part altered Repository of Knowledge.

May's stomach rolled uncomfortably and the blood rushed to her face. Thankfully only Adria could see her, otherwise she'd never hear the end of it from Daniel or Vala!

And then the lights went out.

Vala used the opportunity to say, "Listen, we're not rejoining the fleet, you're coming with me."

"No I can't abandon my army." Adria replied pulling away.

"It's not, your army."

"Of course it is."

"Well as your mother I'm putting my foot down; you're too young to have your own army!"

May moved out of the corner and became visible again. They were getting angry. _Family shouldn't fight._

"They look to me for guidance, for protection! And for answers. Tell me what happened to my people here on this planet!" she snapped at Daniel, focusing on him.

May's ring flashed and a beam of multicolored light shot out, impacting the shield provided by Adria's pendant. Daniel fought to get his breath back as Adria refocused on May, who pointed to the dead Jaffa and moved closer to Vala.

Glancing at Daniel Adria commented, "You have a strong mind," before resurrecting a Jaffa and using her powers to lift and choke him again.

"Now tell me, what happened to the believers who came to spread Origin to this world?"

_They died?_ May thought sarcastically.

_I knew that already, but thank you for pointing that out._ Adria replied, and then said out loud, "Yours is a backward people, too primitive to have come up with such an effective weapon. So tell me, how did it come into your hands?"

The Jaffa didn't say a word, although he wasn't looking so good.

_It predates their society?_

_Does it now?_

"Where is it?"

May couldn't take it anymore, not even Jaffa deserved to die this way.

_Dakara._

_What?_

_Da ka ra._ She repeated, just before the Jaffa stuttered out, "Da . . . Dakara."

Adria nodded and broke his neck, killing him again. May winced as he hit the ground.

"It won't be that easy." Daniel said a few minutes later. The ship had since jumped into hyper space (May felt a little sick when that happened, or maybe it was because Adria was watching her again), and Adria wanted Vala to stay with her and (predictably) convert to Origin. Oh, and more Jaffa showed up and started shooting at the door.

"Why wouldn't it be? I'm about to destroy the only real threat against us." Adria snapped.

"You're forgetting about someone, what about the Ancients?"

May snorted. Adria glanced at Vala, who shrugged and mouthed, 'Happens a lot.'

"You know as well as I do that they'll never interfere. We have free reign in this galaxy," Adria trailed off and glanced at May before turning back to Daniel, "Unless the Ilvar move against us."

Daniel went stiff, "How do you know about that?"

"I have my sources." She replied, glancing at May again. Oddly, her face was pink and her focus elsewhere.

May was sitting in her room back at SGC, confused. They'd been beamed off the Ori ship and the Odyssey jumped into hyperspace. If anyone looked surprised at May's appearance, nobody said anything.

She ran through the day's events again, and arrived at the same conclusion: something was off, and she needed to talk to somebody.

_Aunt Sam. _She was halfway to the lab before she realized where she was going, but continued undeterred.

"Aunt Sam?" May asked, peering around the doorway. Sam looked up and smiled, "Hey kiddo! Feeling better?"

"Kind of. Can I talk to you? Girl to girl?"

Sam frowned, looking over the girl she had helped raise. She'd watched her surrogate niece grow into a strong confidant young woman, but now she looked . . . lost? Confused? And nervous too.

"Sure. What's the matter?"

May shut the door behind her and dragged a chair across the room. Now Sam was concerned, the last time she acted like this was when she hit puberty. Poor thing had been terrified. But now, she looked worse.

"Aunt Sam, you love me right?"

Sam was taken aback; whatever she had been expecting, it sure wasn't this!

"Yeah."

"And you would love me no matter what right?"

"Off course I would! Why, what's wrong?"

May stared at her ring, moving the crystal left and right. Oh yeah, something was bothering her.

"May? What happened?"

May looked up and said, "I think a have a crush on someone."

Sam blinked, that was it? Sure it would be the first time she'd had feelings like this, but it wasn't something to get nervous about.

"Daniel wouldn't approve of them."

Ah, that made sense. Daniel, and Jack too, would pull the overprotective father act if anyone looked at their little girl the wrong way. Even Teal'c would get defensive, and personally Sam had lost count of how many humans, and Tok'ra, she'd either yelled at, punched, or otherwise hurt because they'd scared, upset, or threatened her little girl.

"When you see them, what do you feel?"

May blushed and mumbled something.

"What?"

This time her answer was a squeak.

"You've got it bad, don't you?" Sam asked, almost knocked out of her chair when May jumped into her lap and burst into tears. She hadn't done that since she was twelve, just after Daniel had Ascended the first time.

"Can you tell me who it is?"

May said nothing.

"I'm not gonna judge okay? I promise."

May looked up, turquoise eyes shining with tears and looking more Ilvar than human, and said very quietly, "Adria."


	8. Chapter 8

**Major Simi: The Ori arc spans Seasons 9 and 10, and is wrapped up in the direct-to-DVD movie called **_**Ark of Truth**_** (2005-2007, 2008). The Vs show up in 2009. As for them getting past SGC, you'll see.**

**stark40763: Glad you liked it!**

**Jojobevco: Back story for what May really is revealed this chapter, I promise. As for the strange resemblance between Orici and queen V, I'm not sure. I have heard that everyone on Earth has a double, but I don't know if everyone in the universe (or at least this galaxy) has one.**

**To those who read my other story, Reality Jumper, I removed it because (1) I found it embarrassing, and (2) the creative spark was just gone.**

**A nod to the 80's V in this chapter. See if you can find it.**

Sam took the next weekend off and told Daniel May was coming along. When he asked why, Sam explained it was girl stuff. He just nodded and went back to work. She didn't feel too bad about her explanation, because they would be talking about girl stuff. Among other things, like exactly what Sam would do to anyone who broke May's heart, super-human powers be damned.

And that was what they spent most of the weekend doing, talking about feelings and Sam wishing Janet was around because she didn't really want to give the safe sex talk (again) but she did anyway.

They talked about the crush in detail. By definition a crush was usually a short-lived infatuation. Even if the object of said crush was a female, it didn't matter to Sam. Love was love; it wasn't picky because of a person's gender, and Sam made sure May was aware of this.

Sam remembered going to see Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings* during school hours to avoid the screaming fan girls (both were aware not everyone acted like that, and so is the author). Most girls had crushes on Daniel Radcliff, Orlando Bloom, and Viggo Mortensen, but May said, "They're only human fer cryin out loud!" Instead she sympathized with Fleur, because they were both part human, and her favorite LOTR character was the elf maiden Arwen. At the time Sam didn't think much of it, assuming May would find a boyfriend when she was older (provided SG-1 didn't kill him first).

Just before May pulled out a movie to watch, Sam asked, "Are you sure your crush is real, and not Adria's influence?"

May stared at Sam for a minute or so, before looking at her ring and asking, "What am I?"

The crystal flashed and projected a screen on the wall:

_May of Clan Lamo__nt. Species: Human. Race: Ilvar/Human hybrid_

_Father: Richard Jackson. Species: Human. Race: Tau'ri_

_Mother: Cassidy. Species: Human. Race: Ilvar (neutral Alteran)._

Sam mouthed the word 'Ilvar', and May could see the gears turning in her head, trying to figure out where (if) she'd heard it before. Judging by the subtle slump of her shoulders, she had never heard of it.

Not sure of what to expect, she motioned for her niece to explain. Once again, she looked at the ring and asked, "Who are the Ilvar?"

The crystal made a strange whirring sound before lighting up. A female voice began speaking,

"In a different galaxy many years ago, was a race known as the Alterans. In time they split into three factions: the largest would become known as the Ori, and they think themselves gods; the smallest would become known as the Ancients, and would prefer science and reason. The middle group, to whom we belong, call ourselves the Ilvar. We remained neutral in the conflict between the Ancients and the Ori, thinking it harmless at first.

We lived apart from them, learning about the world around us and how it worked. The beauty of the natural world always drew us, and we sought to imitate it. In form we are slender and graceful but with an underlying strength that surprised our rivals and enemies. Our ears are pointed, like those of a cat, and our eyes match the colors in aurora.

During our self-imposed exile, we began to change in both body and mind. We could manipulate ourselves, each other, and our environment."

"Near ascended powers?" Sam blurted out before clapping a hand over her mouth. The voice sounded amused, "Yes. Soon after these powers manifested and we learned to control them we Ascended. Faced with near infinite knowledge and power, we put it to use by protecting the worlds we lived on, and any planet with a natural wonder or rare species."

"Like the Sirians?" May asked, noticing the voice wasn't coming from the ring anymore.

"Not quite. They are a widespread species, although some of them do live on worlds we protect." She explained.

"Then what happened?" Sam asked.

"The rest of the Alterans became polar opposites. The Ori attempted to destroy the Ancients," here the voice sounded upset, "And to avoid a war, the Ancients left the galaxy. We wondered if it was our fault, if the absence of a neutral party caused the split among our brethren. We decided not to let it happen again. Half of us remained watching the Ori, the other half followed the Ancients. You should know the rest."

"And you're still neutral right?" Sam asked, ignoring the look of disbelief May sent her.

"Yes, though we disagree with them in regards to their children."

"What if an Ancient or one of the Ori tries to hurt May?"

"If one of our own is deceived or harmed in any way, we will show them no mercy."

Later, after Aunt Sam had gone to bed, May looked at her crystal again and whispered, "A Repository of Knowledge isn't interactive. Grandma, is that you?"

"Hello granddaughter." The voice said, a turquoise light appearing in the room before taking the shape of an auburn-haired woman in her thirties. The two hugged before May started talking.

"The Ori impregnated Vala and they're using the child to lead their crusade."

"The child is a hybrid?" Grandma Orlithe asked.

"She's a hybrid, and . . . I like her."

Orlithe blinked but wasn't surprised; just before May's eyes filled with tears, her expression was similar to Cassidy's when she talked about her Richard.

"And?"

"Cameron, Uncle Teal'c, Uncle Jack and Vala don't know, and I don't know how they'd feel about it, and Aunt Sam is accepting but doesn't like the person. It's like I inherited Daniel's curse, and I _know_ he won't like it, he'll just think Adria is messing with my mind."

"As I told your aunt, according to our laws, neither Ancient nor Ori is allowed to deceive or harm you in any way. The Priors, the Ori soldiers, and Adria are similarly bound. Any feelings you have for Adria are genuine."

May asked in an even quieter voice, "What does Adria think of me?"

Orlithe smiled, "You'll just have to ask her yourself. Good night Granddaughter."

" 'Night Grandma." Just before May drifted off she thought, _How did she know Adria's name?_

Upstairs, Sam was reviewing all she had learned.

The Ilvar were neutral Alterans, and from the sound of it they were the first to Ascend. May's mother must have been an Ilva, making her a hybrid. And if the Ancients attached a negative stigma to fire, as Daniel suggested, could they have done something similar with the Ilvar? Introduce elves as beings of benevolence and wisdom? It made sense, especially after May noticed similarities between the words Ilvar and Eldar, as well as between Ilvar and Iluvatar, the "god" of Middle Earth.

Then her thoughts turned to the crush itself. Both Adria and May were half human, and according to Vala, Adria didn't look much older than May. Could that be it? A sense of once-sided companionship because they were both hybrids? Or maybe not so one-sided; both Daniel and Vala had noticed how often Adria had looked at May.

Either way, chances of crossing paths with Adria a second time were slim at best. They probably wouldn't see her again. Oh how wrong she was.

"But now things will be much more difficult," Osric began, before the illusion faded, revealing the one person Sam honestly hoped they never saw again. She glanced at May, who seemed _very_ interested in her nails.

"Especially, for you." Adria finished.

May looked ill and Sam mentally winced. Of course she had to be blushing didn't she? If they got lucky, it could pass as a fever.

Adria glanced at Sam before looking at May. _Great. She probably heard that._

The subtle nod confirmed Adria had heard it, and Sam mentally kicked herself.

"You've done something new with your eyes."

Shut up Cameron, shut up!

May looked up, hesitant and nervous. Thankfully Adria was too focused on trying to intimidate Cameron with the glowing eyes trick. Yes something was different. Last time Adria's eyes had looked and flickered like fire, but now they were a liquid brown. And they were looking her way.

May blinked. _What?_

_Hello to you too._

May hissed under her breath.

Both Adria and SG-1 were after the Sangraal (Ba'al didn't count; he'd be dead before sunset). Why did they need the stupid thing anyway? She'd told Daniel, Uncle Teal'c, Uncle Cameron, Aunt Sam, and Vala that half the Ilvar lived in the Ori galaxy, but instead of leaving the idea alone, they were trying to keep it away from Adria. If she had to guess, Adria was trying to keep the sangraal away from SG-1, so why couldn't both parties leave well enough alone and shoot Ba'al? He didn't mind reducing the number of Ascended!

The cave was one disaster after another. A holographic kid stuck in a cage, riddles in Ancient, and then a fake wall of fire. The crystal was flickering wildly in the light, close to activating its equivalent of a panic button. The room had a tiny bridge that led from the doorway to a platform with an obelisk and something with a glowing red ball in it.

The ring flashed. _Hologram, not real._

May reached for Adria but missed, muttering an old Sirian curse she'd heard from Delta . Ba'al squeaked in shock and even Vala jumped, startled. Teal'c on the other hand, was long used to it.

"Didn't catch that." Sam said, "What did you say?"

May hissed something else instead, loud enough for Ba'al to hear, "_You'll be dead before sunset threvast!_"

Vala had her eyes shut tight and she muttered through clenched teeth, "Would you _please_ not say that?"

May glanced at Ba'al and was pleased to see the blood had drained out of his face. Sam and Teal'c looked smug, Cam was audibly snickering, Daniel hid his face in his hands and Adria . . . Adria smirked at her. Through sheer force of will, May kept herself from blushing, before cocking her head to the right. Something was coming.

A holographic dragon flapped out of the darkness and May almost screamed in frustration. Not only did the dragon look pathetic, but also dear old Morgan was trying to kill them!

The ring flared, its master threatened. The sky above the planet started turning colors. May being the first out the hole in the wall noticed them before the others; Adria followed her line of sight with wide eyes.

The dragon burst through the mountaintop, flapping its wings and making weird screeching noises.

May swore under her breath, _Dragons don't sound like that!_

The aurora became more vivid, and May knew how to get rid of the damn thing. She ran out and screamed, "GANOS LAL!"

The dragon disappeared.

"My hero." Adria said under her breath. May winked at her. Daniel was confused, "But . . . how?"

10 minutes later, SG-1 and Ba'al were transported somewhere else. May stalked over to a corner and started rereading _Return of the King_, tuning everything else out until . . .

"Doctor Jackson."

May shivered from her corner, marking her place and putting the book away. Her intuition flared; something was wrong. Looking at Daniel, she sensed the presence of another soul. Merlin's mind was in Daniel's body.

And then Daniel did something stupid. He killed the Ori soldiers outside with a freak storm, which left him weak.

"Idiot." She whispered

"I heard that." Daniel snapped.

"Draining isn't it?" Adria inquired as though neither had spoken. May tuned her out and focused elsewhere, rather difficult considering her feelings. Ba'al was dead, she was right.

"Instead of helping your friends, you should have saved your energy to deal with me."

"It wouldn't have made a difference."

Adria tilted Daniel's face towards her (May snarled) and replied, "Probably not." Then she telekinetically threw him out of the cave.

Daniel (and Merlin) flew out of the chamber and landed painfully on the ground. Adria walked out after him and shielded herself from Tau'ri weapons fire.

"Why do I bother?" whined Cameron.

"Adria, I want you to stop this right now!" Vala demanded, after making sure Daniel was alive.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way Mother." And with that Adria sent an energy beam at them, only to be blocked by Daniel.

"Get to the 'Gate now!"

"We aren't leaving you here!" Sam shouted.

"I'll be right behind you."

"May! Runemaster, let's go!" Cameron yelled, dragging Vala into the 'Gate, followed by Teal'c and Sam.

May couldn't get to the 'Gate; the only safe way down was blocked by Adria, who overwhelmed Daniel and knocked him out. Within minutes an Ori ship arrived, beamed the three aboard, and jumped into hyperspace.

"Merlin gave Daniel some pretty valuable intel. Adria knows that. She'll keep him alive." Cameron told Vala, who didn't look any better.

"What I'm more worried about," he continued a bit louder, "Is the sixteen year old girl who might not be kept alive. Now Sam you're sure Adria won't hurt May?"

Sam sighed loudly, ever since May had explained who, and what, the Ilvar were, Daniel had fired questions a mile a minute until she kicked him in the shin.

"If the Ori, their followers, or, god forbid, one of the Ancients tries to hurt her, the Ilvar will seek revenge. So unless Adria wants to die, I doubt she'll do anything. May will be fine." _I hope._

Teal'c gave her a look. Cam noticed, "Sam . . ."

_She's gonna kill me for this._ "May's got a crush on Adria."

Teal'c stared, Vala nodded to herself, and Cam said, "Oh god . . ."

"I know the burden must be awful. Your brain simply wasn't meant to handle that much information." Adria said. The room Daniel was sitting in was dark; May couldn't tell if it was helping.

"Well whatever I had it's gone, along with what feels like half my brain cells."

May snorted from the hallway.

"Oh like you could do any better?" was Daniel's muffled retort.

"Actually she could." Adria said, glancing at May and seemingly oblivious to Daniel's growl, "It's in her blood."

May turned red and stared at a spot on the floor.

"You should rest. We have a lot of work to do." Then she turned and beckoned to May, who had no choice but to tag along.

*** Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings. Am I the only one who thinks that would be an awesome book/movie?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Major Simi: I'm not sure how to reply to that. **

**I own nothing but the character May, the Ilvar, and the city of Lunara. This chapter starts in The Shroud, and then jumps off the canon tracks.**

"She seemed to know everything about me. She had tremendous power of persuasion. It was almost as if I could hear her voice in my head, telling me what to believe. So I let her believe she was getting to me. Turning me." Daniel explained, strapped to a chair and looking like a Prior. He could still feel May's glare, as if she _knew_ what his plan was. Her expression even set Merlin on edge.

"Why?" Cam asked.

"Because I needed her to trust me."

"And did she? Well, don't get me wrong, you're not a terrible liar, but you're nowhere near as good as me." Vala half snapped, half bragged.

"Who is?" Cameron asked.

Vala shrugged, "And Adria could see right through me so how did you manage to fool her?"

"I was able to protect Daniel, make Adria think he had succumbed to her will."

"Merlin?"

"It was necessary."

_Flashback (I think)_

_He and Adria were meditating in a small room, surrounded by candles._

"_In our time together I've really come to see in you what draws Mother's affection."_

"_Affects wha?"_

"_It's very important to me that we save her together." She continued, moving so she was in front of him._

"_Of course."_

"_I can feel the difference in you."_

"_That's because you've done so much for me. Shown me the true path."_

"_I'm glad. There's so much more I can do for you. And you for me."_

_She kissed him, and then turned him into a Prior. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but for a second the candles burned brighter._

_Flashback ends_

Daniel had noticed the candles flare, and so had Adria. She left him to his own devices while she tried to find the source. Just outside the room a servant met her, bowed (as was customary) and said, "Lady Orici, the Ilva has asked for you. She's in her quarters."

May stared at a point on the opposite wall, thinking about the last few weeks. Adria was a good hostess, as evidenced by the room May was given upon arrival. Like most rooms on an Ori ship, the walls were mostly barren, and the bed was too . . . ornate for her liking. She slept on top of the covers, quilt included, because otherwise she'd be too hot.

Unlike most rooms on an Ori ship, Adria had made sure a bookshelf was provided, as well as a place to hang her old outdoor backpack. The shelf was empty, with plenty of room for what she'd brought with her. It would probably hold all her books back home too; they were all in boxes at the moment because Daniel was tired of grabbing _The Hobbit_ instead of a dictionary.

So she'd emptied her backpack. She'd gone a little lighter this time, just a few books instead of mostly books. Uncle Jack thought it was funny when a lesser Goa'uld threatened to shoot anybody who interrupted May before she finished reading _The Two Towers_, but Aunt Sam reminded him that a book wasn't much use in a fight.

_The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe_, _Prince Caspian_, _Voyage of the Dawn Treader_, _The Hobbit_ and _The Lord of The Rings Trilogy_ sat next to each other on one shelf, along with a flashlight, her wooden flute, a notebook (for visions) and sketchbook (for boredom), a box of colored pencils, two mechanical pencils, a clear crystal, a water bottle, and half a chocolate bar. A few other things, like personal care products, stayed in the backpack, removed only when she washed up.

_I knew I'd brought them for a reason._

There had been a vision since her arrival, of Daniel/Merlin being turned into a Prior, working on the sangraal, willingly getting captured by SG-1, and setting off Merlin's weapon in the Ori galaxy, killing the Ori and half the Ilvar. A few weeks later, SG-1 tries to capture Adria with Vala as bait. Ba'al shows up (no real surprise there) and tries to use Adria as a host. The Tok'ra remove him, but can't stop the poison. Dying, Adria Ascends, gaining the power of two galaxy's worth of believers. SG-1 finds the Ark of Truth about a year later and uses it on the Doci (and through him the Priors in the Ori galaxy), weakening Adria enough to be engaged in eternal battle with the Ancient Morgan. Each time Adria had seemed less human and more Ori, and as an Ascended was cruel, uncaring and thirsted for power. The super vision had taken an hour to unfold, leaving May drained and sick. Her in-vision behavior after the Ascended vs Ascended battle didn't escape her either. Broken-hearted, she shut down. Unable to help, Daniel sent her back to New York to live with the Evans family, hoping she would improve there. Aside from the vision, May ended up with a couple more near-ascended abilities: telekinesis, and air control (she called it bending).

_At least Adria helped you._ May thought to herself, placing the crystal within reach again.

_Flashback:_

_The crystal levitated off the bed, wobbled for a second, then fell. May hissed in irritation, why was this harder than air control?_

"_You're trying too hard."_

_May jumped. Adria stood in the doorway, observing._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_You shouldn't have to struggle with your powers. They should come naturally."_

"_But I'm half human." May protested, absently curling a strand of red hair around her finger._

"_So am I, yet I didn't have to fight to use my abilities." She came closer, "I could help with your telekinesis if you want; you seem to have your aerokinesis under control."_

"_O-okay."_

_Flashback ends_

Adria watched from the doorway as the Ilva stared at a crystal on her bed, too focused on it to notice her. The crystal rose off the bed, remaining level for a minute or so until May put it down. She felt proud of her student; it had taken a couple weeks of one-on-one meditation and practice, but it looked like she finally got the hang of it.

"May?"

"Adria?"

She smiled and rolled her eyes, reviewing how she interacted with this girl. At first, May of Lamont had been shy, nervous, and became flushed when their eyes met. Over time those behaviors had stopped, and she seemed more comfortable.

"Can we talk?"

She looked upset and nervous. Adria sat next to her and waited.

"I've seen something . . . something I don't like, and neither do the rest of the Ilvar."

She cocked her head, "Seen? A vision?"

May nodded. After a short hesitation, she explained what she had foreseen, watching for any reaction on Adria's part. She _seethed_ at Daniel's betrayal, was surprised by her mother's idea of using herself as bait, hated Ba'al (as did May and lizard-creature named Delta), and viewed the vision's end through May's eyes.

She experienced the Ilva's emotions as though they were her own, feeling more human than she ever had. She felt May's heart break when the two Ascended beings disappeared.

"You would miss me?"

"Yes. I'd miss you."

"Why?"

"Because . . . because I like you."

_That's why her face would turn pink!_ Adria frowned; May wasn't making eye contact, almost like she feared rejection.

"By having a vision, doesn't the future change?" she asked, changing the subject for now.

"I guess."

"If you know what will happen, you can change the outcome. By starting with the sangraal."

"If you start acting different, Daniel and Erl will notice."

"Who's Erl?"

"Merlin."

"Ah. I don't plan to change much yet. Let the two of them work on the weapon. When it's nearly complete I'll send them away. If even one piece is missing, it won't work."

"Or we could ask the Ilvar."

Adria blinked. Yes, they could do that, and take the choice away from Daniel/Erl and SG-1 entirely. The Ilvar in the Ori galaxy were already restless, while the Ilvar here were observing the Ori's forces very closely.

"How do we contact the Ilvar?"

"I shine a flashlight on my crystal." May explained, demonstrating. When the beam of light hit the crystal, the room exploded in color.

"Grandma!" May shouted, jumping off the bed and hugging an auburn haired Ilva. Adria could see the family resemblance, the red hair (May's was lighter), the turquoise eyes, and of course, the luminous skin and pointed ears.

The two were speaking rapidly in Ancient, if Adria had to guess it was about May's vision. She did catch the word sangraal once or twice.

When May was finished, her grandmother looked furious.

"The Ori have crossed us for the last time."

"What will you do with them?" Adria inquired nervously.

"Merely destroying them isn't enough punishment. It merely places them beyond reach of those who wish them harm. However if they were forced to once again take human form, as their children shake off their influence . . . yes, that will do nicely." The Ilvar said, the last part mostly to herself.

"And the sangraal?" May asked, cocking her head.

"There are two pieces that could disappear and prevent the device from working. The first is the most obvious: a red jewel also called the Bloodstone. The other is the countdown crystal. The Bloodstone is too obvious, because you, your family, the threvast and Adria have seen it."

"The countdown crystal then?"

"Why not just take the weapon?" Adria spoke up, looking confused, "Wait until SG-1 is beamed aboard and get rid of it before their eyes."

May looked at her grandmother, who glanced at the ring she wore on her right hand, silver with an amethyst crystal.

"And what should happen to you, daughter of the Ori?" Grandma Orlithe asked, eyeing Adria and seeing a child in an adult's body. The Orici tried to appear small and vulnerable, very aware of the strength of the Ilvar.

"Grandma, the Ori twisted her since her conception. The things she did in the Ori's name, can we blame her for that?" May asked, looking at Adria with tear-filled eyes.

"No . . . I don't think we can." Orlithe replied, summoning the crystal. Once she touched it, an aurora formed within, flowing out the crystal's top, through the ceiling, and out of sight. Her attention returned to Adria and she said, "When SG-1 has departed, return to the Ori galaxy and go to Lunara."

"Your holy city," Adria breathed, "But why?"

"Our neutrality is not genetic. You can learn if you try. I need to go now Granddaughter."

Adria turned away, staring at the strange books May had brought with her.

"Adria? Are you alright?" May asked a few minutes later.

"I envy you."

"What?"

"There are people in your life who love you and a group of Ascended beings who watch over you. If I surrendered now, they would kill me. Not even my mother would stop them."

"And deep down you still hope she can change. She thinks the same thing about you."

"Does she worry about me?"

"I don't know." May answered truthfully, and Adria did something she hadn't done since she was an infant. She cried.

May hugged her, and that seemed to make it worse, as she hadn't been held since she was an infant either. May swore to herself she would find the one-eyed Prior and kick his ass. No child deserved to be treated this way.

"This is the last time we'll see each other for a while." Adria managed to say half an hour later, hugging May like she would disappear. "Things will have to change. . ."

"Will you come back?" The unspoken but implied _for me_ hung between the two of them. Adria thought about it, May's infatuation had mellowed into close friendship, and among the Ilvar friendship was second only to family. In addition, it was their status as hybrids that drew them together in the first place.

"Of course."

May still looked unhappy, but accepted it. "What's Lunara?"

Adria stared at her with wide eyes.

"Born in this galaxy, duh!"

"Right . . . as you know, Celestis is the holy city of the Ori. Lunara predates it by several thousand years. The world on which the city is located has no sunlight. Some say the magic of the Ilvar keeps the world alive, others say it's the crystals scattered around it. Either way, there is no denying its beauty."

May's eyes gleamed; this was better than any story she'd read!

"It is also said that Lunara is where the Ilvar meet with humans. A few people traveled to the city when faith in the Ori waivered. When they returned home their pleas had been answered. A sickness or injury cured, crops and livestock providing enough to get them through hard times. This led to a few planets that wanted to worship the Ilvar instead. Several Priors were lost before the Ilvar made it clear they didn't want to be worshiped. Still, they are respected."

And she continued explaining into the night, amused by May's expression of wonder. When it was late, Adria bade her friend goodnight and went to get some sleep. Tomorrow, the real work began.

That was a couple days ago. Everything had sort of gone according to plan. Before Vala could piece together the sangraal, an aurora surrounded the ship and the weapon vanished. Merlin died and Daniel went back to being good old human Daniel. Adria had returned to the Ori galaxy and was either en route to Lunara or already there. And Uncle Jack came for a visit and stayed for a week or so.

May had been debriefed along with the rest of SG-1, where she explained her vision, the changes in Adria, and how the Ilvar didn't want their brethren to die so yes they destroyed the sangraal.

News came in from planets under Ori rule: an aurora came and pushed their forces back to the Supergate. The truth behind Origin had been revealed to everyone but the Priors, who had lost their powers and had to be dragged onto ships because they refused to leave otherwise.

A couple years went by and May started having visions centering on her Mom and Tyler. Deciding to drop in for a long-overdue visit, she was there for about a week, when _they_ showed up.

**Stargate fans don't worry. SG-1 (and Adria) will be back. Wow. I covered most of SG-1 in four chapters. Yay!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Major Simi: Wow, you're fast. In the words of Teal'c of the Free Jaffa: Indeed.**

**Jojobevco: I'm not sure. Each chapter will cover more than one episode, namely big reveals that get sent to Stargate Command. Do the Vs stand a chance? You'll see (muahahahaha!)**

**V fans rejoice! Thank you for staying with me this far, and a big thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorite, or put this fic on their alerts list. The next few chapters will explore the Sirian/Goa'uld rivalry and just how far back it goes. **

**I've transferred to MSU and take fifteen hours a week, so updates may slow down. Then again, maybe not. If I don't have V Season 2 by the time I've posted the chapter containing Red Sky, I'll have to stop for the time being.**

When May woke up, something was wrong. A few of her books had fallen onto the floor, and her clear crystal was vibrating. Once the shaking stopped and Mom left to get Tyler (there was something wrong with him) May grabbed a notebook, her Asgard-altered cell phone (upgraded by Loki in exchange for a Rubik's cube), a notebook and a pencil, and went downstairs to watch TV.

The earthquake was caused by a spaceship with a vaguely reptilian shape, like a cobra's head with its hood flared. The bottom turned into a screen and what appeared to be a human female started speaking. Of course being raised in Cheyenne Mountain, May was all too aware that nothing was as it seemed. The ring flashed in agreement.

"Don't be frightened. We mean no harm. Please accept our apologies. We're truly anguished by the turmoil our arrival has caused. This is a momentous day. Until now we believed we were the only intelligent life in the universe. We're overjoyed to find that we're not alone. My name is Anna, and I am the leader of my people. We're delighted to meet you. But we need your help. We're far from home and require a mineral which is common and abundant on earth in order to sustain ourselves. In exchange, we'd be willing to share some of our technological advances with you. Technology that will help enrich your lives in all areas. After we've replenished ourselves and shared with you what we can, we will leave you, hopefully better than we found you. We look forward to meeting our new friends. There will be more communication with your world's leaders in the hours to come. Until then, we are of peace, always."

May's eyes narrowed as her intuition flared. She flipped open her cell phone and dialed the first number in her contacts list, "Daniel? I smell a rat."

"You have my complete and undivided attention." Daniel replied as Vala slipped into his office and shoved a chair under the doorknob. A quick headcount confirmed all current members of SG-1 were present. Stargate Command was in chaos; for all their technology they hadn't seen this coming.

"Is everybody there?" May asked while Daniel put her on speaker phone.

"We're here," Cameron huffed, having bolted straight from his room when he heard there was a spaceship over NYC. Over the girl he'd come to think of as an adopted niece.

"Did you watch that thing on TV?"

"Yes we have, and nobody knows how we didn't see this coming." Sam replied, unnerved by the whole thing.

"I don't believe a word Anna said."

"You think she's lying." Vala guessed, absently scratching Delta's head. The lizard had arrived for a visit the previous night and curled up in May's empty room. A strange gurgling wail was heard an hour later when it became clear her favorite human wasn't there.

"She said they thought they were the only intelligent life in the universe until they found us. Uncle Teal'c, weren't the Goa'uld spread throughout the galaxy?"

"That is correct LittleWarrior. There are few worlds that have never heard of or encountered the Goa'uld."

"They'd have to be pretty isolated or in a different galaxy." Sam added, ignoring Delta's angry hiss.

"Then she says in exchange for water and a common Earth mineral they're willing to share their technology with us. Anytime we're given technology from other civilizations, like the Tok'ra, there are unpleasant side-effects. And then she says they're of peace. I doubt it."

"Maybe I'm just playing Devil's Advocate, but how do you know they aren't of peace?" Vala asked, giving the phone a curious look.

May's answer was sarcastic, "Oh let's see, the Goa'uld, the Replicators, and the Ori. What should I do guys?"

Looks were exchanged.

"She could gather intel and send it to us." Cameron suggested quietly.

"How? If they can travel through space they could probably hack a laptop." Daniel protested; he did not want his cousin in harm's way. Again.

"Uh, Daniel? The Asgard altered my laptop and phone. They're high-efficiency, untraceable, and can't be hacked.

"Can you gather information?" Sam asked, ignoring Daniel waving his free hand around in an unmistakable 'no' motion.

"Yeah."

"Do it. Gather as much information as you can and send it to us. We'll verify what we can."

"Can I talk to Daniel now?"

Daniel turned off the speaker.

"Daniel?"

"I'm here. Be careful alright? If you don't feel comfortable we'll beam out and bring you home."

"I'll be careful Daniel. I love you."

"Love you too." They hung up.

Three weeks later:

In three weeks the following information had been sent to SGC: the number of motherships and their current locations, effect on the host cities' economies, and what they could do in their Healing Centers.

Tyler's friend Brandon had gotten three tickets to the Mothership, so May tagged along, mentally running though how she was supposed to behave the whole way there. If they got caught her excuse would be either: (1) it's Tyler's fault ("Hey!"), (2) she was curious, or (3) play the Daniel card.

Neither the outside nor the inside of the shuttle impressed the half-Ilvar, and honestly she thought it was too slow. Tyler was in his own little world, meaning May could analyze him. Since her arrival home, her adoptive brother had been . . . off. And not just because Dad had left. He said he'd been sick on and off since the flu outbreak four years ago . . . the Ori plague. Even with the vaccine, sometimes he couldn't get out of bed.

The inside of the Mothership impressed her less than the shuttle had. May observed everything she could see with a critical eye, noting strategic places to hide.

"Hello."

May turned and saw a blonde V, who looked about their age.

"Welcome to the New York Mothership. My name is Lisa."

Tyler (predictably) was smitten, amusing May. But when the goofy smile appeared on his face, she snorted. When one of the Vs showed how they manipulated gravity, Lisa showed up again.

"Oh, dude, that V girl is coming over here. Be cool." Brandon whispered.

_Oh he's lost that battle boy. _May thought, moving to Tyler's left so she could see better.

"Having a good time?" Lisa asked.

"Uh, great time." Tyler said, while Brandon just laughed nervously.

_No. Can we go home now?_ May thought.

"Good. Have you heard about our new Peace Ambassador Program?"

"Peace Ambassador Program?" Tyler repeated.

"Broken record." May hissed under her breath.

"Yeah, you sign up, hang out with Vs, learn about our culture. And you act as V Ambassadors in your own communities. You even get a uniform."

May almost said something. Almost, but restrained herself just in time.

Brandon complained, "It says you have to be eighteen to join. We're only seventeen."

_Not me losers._

"You can still join, you just need your parent's signatures." Lisa explained, glancing at May, "How about you?"

"Not today." She replied, evading the age question.

"Yeah that's kind of a tough sell right now. Our parents don't even know we're here."

_Mine will._

"That's too bad. I just got assigned to the New York Chapter. We could've spent some time together."

Tyler looked upset.

_I sense deceit coming on._

When they got home, May sent Daniel a text on her cell: _Send me my copy of Chariot of the Gods. I need it ASAP._

The book arrived via _Odyssey_ a few days later, in exchange for information about the inside of the mothership, the Peace Ambassador Program, and Tyler's possible V girlfriend. _Chariot of the Gods_ was placed on her bookshelf to be revealed later. She spent the rest of the day on the couch, rereading _Marked_.

Tyler actually came home that afternoon . . . with Lisa. May turned a page and ignored them unless they spoke to her directly.

"May? There's somebody I'd like you to meet." Tyler said, looking nervous.

May glanced up, somewhere between neutral and bored.

"May this is Lisa. Lisa, this is my sister."

"Nice to meet you."

May just nodded and went back to her book, before shutting it, going upstairs and turning in early due to a headache. She didn't hear when Erica came very close to chewing Tyler out. When Tyler put the rest of his clothes on and tiptoed past May's room (because if he woke her up she'd murder him), Lisa followed, looking curiously at the closed door.

Upon her return to the ship, Lisa approached Anna and said, "Tyler's the one. We should use him."

"You're doing an excellent job. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you Mother."

May woke up later then she wanted the next morning with a full-blown migraine. Her mom was already gone, and Tyler knocked on the door and said he was going to see his councilor. Her answering curses were muffled by the covers. Burrowing into them and hiding from the sunlight, she asked the ring, "Why's my head hurt so bad?"

It was her grandmother who replied, thankfully out loud, "Your telepathy. Give it a few hours and you will become accustomed to it. By tomorrow morning, you can play around with it."

Grabbing her phone, May hammered out a text message to Daniel, _To SG-1: Gaining telepathy, will not get up for a while._

Across town Tyler was talking (whining) to Dr Stevens, "I can't talk to my mom anymore. I tried telling her about this girl I met; she wouldn't give me two seconds. She doesn't trust me, she just keeps on telling me, 'Stay away from the Vs.'"

"And you don't know how to tell her the Vs are important to you?"

"She doesn't wanna hear it. I joined the Peace Ambassadors," he continued, pulling the jacket from his backpack, "If my mom knew she'd go ballistic. She thinks the Vs are evil."

"And how do you see them?" Valerie asked, starting to feel tired again. _He's your last client. Once he's gone you can take a nap._

"The world's broken. They're fixing it. All we do is get in their way. They've got these Healing Centers, the things they can do . . ."

_Okay, now I'm up. _"Have you been down there, to the Healing Centers?"

"No not yet. Why?"

"I just, I've been tempted myself to check them out. I hear you have to wait months though."

"Well if you really want to go I might be able to help. I kinda know someone."

"That's really sweet of you Tyler. I might actually take you up on that."

"I hear they're curing blindness, helping handicapped people walk and all these, great things, and, my mom will never know because, she won't even talk to one. I shouldn't even care. I'm gonna be eighteen in a month, and then I won't have to deal with any of this."

"Your mom doesn't stop being your mom because you're eighteen."

"I feel like she stopped being my mom a long time ago."

Observing via jacket onboard the Mothership, Lisa almost said something but paused when she heard the next question, "How's your sister?"

Tyler looked concerned, "She went to bed early last night and she wasn't up when I left. Normally she's up before anyone, like a week ago, her first night back? She was wired the next morning, and she hadn't had sugar or caffeine or anything. It was scary."

"I thought it might take longer, but I believe Tyler's ready."

"Good. Bring him up to the ship. Tell him I want to meet him. But first, why didn't you tell me about the sister last night?"

"I wasn't sure it was important," Lisa began after a short pause, "Tyler introduced us last night, but she went to bed soon after that. I'll ask him more when I bring him here."

Tyler had checked on May after his appointment, just to make sure she was up. Her bed hadn't been made and her pajamas were on the floor, but her robe was missing and the bathroom door was closed. Not wanting to bother her, he left a note on the kitchen counter and headed to the Peace Ambassador Center, answering his phone on the way out. It was Lisa, and her mother wanted to meet him

_Oh man._

"Tyler!" Lisa greeted as he stepped off the shuttle

The smile on Tyler's face vanished, but he followed her anyway. Lisa asked, "How is your sister? She went to bed rather early last night."

Tyler let out his breath in a _whoosh_, "I don't think she's feeling well. I went home to check on her and she was taking a shower, so it must not be too bad."

Deciding she and Tyler's sister weren't close enough yet, she didn't suggest the Healing Center. "What does she think of us?"

He thought for a second, "Well, she seems kinda neutral. She doesn't really like the Vs, but she doesn't really hate them either. Am I in trouble with your mom?"

"Why would you be in trouble?"

"I don't know. When you called and said she wanted to meet me, if it was my mom I'd be in trouble."

"Mine's not like that."

"You Vs are so much more evolved than we are." Tyler commented with a grin, before he noticed someone standing a short distance away. "Oh my god. That's Anna. Do you know her?"

"Yeah. That's my mom."

Tyler looked shocked.

"C'mon."

"Lisa's told me all about you." Anna said as the three of them walked past her executive suite.

"She uh, didn't tell me a lot about you." Tyler stuttered. _He was talking to the V High Commander!_ "But I already knew a lot about you."

Anna smiled. "I'd like to take some time to get to know Tyler."

"Is that alright with you?" Lisa asked.

"Sure."

"Don't worry, she doesn't bite."

Some of the tension left him.

"See you later."

It was later that evening when the migraine went away. May devoured a sandwich and practically inhaled a glass of milk before going back upstairs and meditating. Having no idea what she was supposed to do, she simply opened her mind . . . and the migraine was back.

May fiercely shut it off, and evened her breathing out. Hesitantly, she tried again, this time actually getting something.

_No need for regrets for the mistakes made yesterday._

_. . . What?_

_The past is gone. No looming fate. No uncontrollable destiny. No hunger, no sickness, no fear, no death. Nothing ahead, nothing behind. Just stillness. Light, warmth. The pain you felt, the pain you may have caused others, it's behind you. No looking back, no fear of what will come. Just the pulse of time, invigorating, soothing. Bask in my light. Take comfort knowing I am here. You will never be alone._

May blinked shook it off, before getting sucked into a vision:

_She flew above the Mothership and into the sky, past every planet in the solar system (including Pluto), and continued to shoot forward between stars until she saw the purpose of the vision. And it filled her with horror._

_Emerging from a dying planet was an armada of ships the same shape as the ones over major world cities, but with slight differences. These were ships of war, hundreds of them, and they were heading for Earth._

**I'm proud of this chapter, which I wrote in about six days. Readers and loyal reviewers, should Adria's return take place before or after Red Sky?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Major Simi and jojobevco: For all our technology, why didn't we see this coming? In either **_**Hearts and Minds**_** or **_**Fruition**_**, the Vs hack into our systems and hide the breeding fleet. I'm thinking they did the same thing for the first 29 ships (or it was just a great place for the story to start). Also, think about how other races in the galaxy reacted to one another. The Goa'uld are forever trying to one-up not only other Goa'uld, but other races like the Asgard. The Vs on the other hand were pretty isolated, developing their technology, their weapons and their ships with little (if any) outside influence, so yes, they are on different wavelengths. Do they know about SGC? No. I did toy with the idea of making Kinsey, Woolsey, or both sleeper agents, but decided it wouldn't work. Kinsey loved power, making Anna consider him a threat (death by tail anyone?), and Woolsey strikes me as spineless. And one of them has children not sure which.**

**stark40763: Maybe. Once it comes out that the Vs sure as hell aren't angels, other humans may be put off by the knowledge of yet more aliens out there somewhere, some of them dangerous. Erica and the Stargate . . . that will definitely be happening.**

Lisa observed Tyler's memories along with the boy in question, noticing a few things that stood out. Tyler's sister May enters his memories when he is four; when Tyler was six, May showed him a drawing of a grey ring with a circle of glyphs and nine trapezoidal figures evenly spaced around it. It seemed familiar. When Tyler is eight, May disappears. The arrival of her mother pushed these thoughts aside.

"Did you find what we're looking for?"

Lisa shook her head, "There's just so much." A few seconds passed, "What does it all mean? It doesn't seem to serve any purpose."

"Human memories contain emotion, not just information. That's why they can be difficult to interpret."

"Why aren't our memories like that?"

"Our species is designed for efficiency. We're not burdened by emotional imprints like humans." A few more seconds passed, "We have what we need. Tyler must calm her fears, loosen her hold on him."

"And he will be free from her."

"And you my daughter, will be free to fulfill your destiny."

"What about his sister?"

Anna blinked, "Explain."

"She enters Tyler's memories when he's four and vanishes when he's eight." The drawing she kept to herself, at least for the time being.

Anna was silent, considering her options. "Find out how close they are. We can use their connection to either drive them apart or bring her to us."

After explaining the effects of the memory chamber, Lisa asked about May, and Tyler was only too happy to explain.

"She's not really my sister, we just adopted her."

Lisa tilted her head, "I don't understand."

"Something happened to her parents and the FBI got involved. I found her in our old car one morning when I was four, Mom and Dad loved her and we adopted her. She stayed with us for a few years until Mom tracked down a living relative to take her in. She went with to live with him when she was nine."

"And you never saw her again until now?"

"She wrote lots of letters in the beginning, but that stopped once she got more comfortable where she was. I'm glad she came to visit, I missed her."

"You don't think she abandoned you?"

"She didn't have much choice. Technically Daniel's her guardian, he's like her dad's cousin or something . . ."

"There was something else I noticed. When you were six May drew this strange grey ring with glyphs around it. What was it?"

"Oh yeah, I remember that one! First she called it Astria Porta, something weird I couldn't pronounce, then she just called it Stargate."

Lisa blinked and asked, "Chappa'ai?" She didn't like the word, much less actually say it. It made her feel aggressive, but she ignored it.

Tyler stared at her, "I think that was it. Weird name huh?'

"Very strange." Lisa agreed, mouthing 'Astria Porta' and then the word 'Stargate'. That was impossible, if Earth had such a thing, the Vs would know about it right?

"How does she feel about you being a Peace Ambassador?" she asked, changing the subject.

"I don't know. She doesn't get up until I'm gone."

"She's alone all day?" Lisa didn't sound accusatory, just curious. Tyler cringed. Was she lonely? Did she hate him for being on the ship so much, basically ignoring her? What if she went back to Daniel and Aunt Sam's early? _I bet they pay attention to her._

"Yeah, she's alone all day. And I wanted to spend more time with her before she went back home, but with me on the ship all the time . . ."

Lisa smiled, seeing an opportunity, "Invite her to the ship with you next time. Explain your duties as a Peace Ambassador, tell her how much you enjoy it." Seeing him glance at the jacket and about to speak, she continued, "Perhaps without the jacket. If she is lonely she might hold us responsible and the jacket would emphasize that."

"But you haven't done anything to her!" Tyler exclaimed angrily.

"Try seeing it from her point of view Tyler. She came to New York to visit her other family, but neither you nor your mother are home much. That alone is enough to drive her away permanently. Talk to her, make sure she knows how important she is to you."

Tyler nodded and went home, unaware of Lisa's satisfied smirk.

After reassuring his mom he wouldn't leave her and telling her he'd joined the Peace Ambassadors, he dropped off the jacket in his room and knocked on May's bedroom door, mentally rehearsing the speech he'd worked on the whole way home.

May opened the door, and Tyler noticed she looked a little pale.

"Can, can I talk to you for a second?"

May lifted one shoulder but let him in anyway.

"I've been ignoring you, and, I'm sorry. It isn't fair that you came all this way from Colorado?" Tyler began, continuing when May nodded, "And you've been all by yourself here. I don't want you to leave because, because-"

May cut him off, seeing Tyler's little spiel for the Lisa-suggested trick it was, "I'd like to believe you Tyler, but apparently your girlfriend and the Vs are more important."

Tyler almost got mad, because the Vs hadn't done anything wrong, but Lisa's words came back to him, _She came to New York to visit her family, but neither you nor your mother are home much._

Taking a deep breath, he knew May's feelings on the subject were justified. And maybe she was snappy because she wasn't feeling well. He left to get ready for bed, deciding talk about the Peace Ambassadors in the morning.

At midnight May heard a cough, then Tyler's heavy footsteps pounded into the bathroom and he threw up noisily. Erica padded after him, peering around the doorway before following.

"Oh Ty. Again?"

He nodded. A few minutes later they walked back to his room, and Erica went searching for a bucket and a towel. May heard distinct mutterings about a fever and not going to work that day, and then pretended to be asleep when Mom checked on her, making sure she wasn't sick too.

_What's wrong with him? _May thought as her dorky brother ran into the bathroom and threw up again twenty minutes later.

A vision hit her then, and she saw four images:

_Human DNA as it should be, a complete double-helix._

_Tyler's DNA, missing substantial chunks._

_Visitor DNA from a fifty-year-old sample named Alpha, much more complicated than a human's. Visitor DNA from Sarita Malik, more complicated than Alpha's._

May swore under her breath, _the V's were fast-tracking their own evolution!_

Tyler was up and down the rest of the night. Mom took his temperature again in the morning and called the doctor, then called her boss and told him she wouldn't be coming in that day. While she was on the phone, May checked on Tyler.

"You look better." He rasped, propping himself up and grabbing the plastic cup of water on the table next to him.

"And you look like hell." May said, leaning against the doorframe. She could sense remnants of the Ori plague in his blood, weak but effective thanks to his lack of DNA. She sensed something else familiar, but would need to get away in order to identify it without freaking him out.

Tyler chuckled dryly, "Yeah I know." He was quiet for a minute before asking, "You wanna hear about the Peace Ambassadors?"

"I guess."

And Tyler was off, explaining what Peace Ambassadors did, the things he'd seen, and how nice the Vs were to any human they came into contact with. May humored him by asking questions, not noticing Mom listening from the top step.

Erica was a little surprised at her son's interrogation at the hands of her daughter. Some of May's questions were very specific, especially about the engine room. Almost every morning she was sending a manila envelope to Daniel, saying he wanted to be kept up to date. Erica wanted to explain how the Vs couldn't be trusted, but wasn't ready to put her daughter in the middle of a war.

"Hey you two."

"Hi Mom."

"I'm going into town to pick up some Advil, both of you stay here okay?"

"Okay."

As she walked out the front door May asked, "Duct tape, a rope, or chains?" and Tyler's loud, "Stay the hell away from me!"

She chuckled to herself as she got in the car.

May confiscated Tyler's phone that morning, and wasn't too surprised when it vibrated later, Lisa's number on the caller ID. Not knowing or caring how the hell she had a cell phone, May answered.

"Hello?"

"May? Why do have Tyler's phone?" Lisa seemed surprised.

"He isn't feeling well. I don't know how long it will take him to get better, but I'm sure he'll let you know when he does."

"Alright. Tell him I'm thinking about him and I miss him." She hung up.

_Yeah I'll tell him. Have to tie him down first._ She thought, sitting down to a late lunch. She'd just taken a sip of lemonade when what she sensed earlier came back to her. Spewing lemonade across the table, she finally knew what made her feel off around Tyler. The ATA gene, inherited from Erica. Being genetically screwed with appeared to have weakened it some, but it was present nonetheless.

"Oh _hell_."


	12. Chapter 12

**Jojobevco: This chapter and the next one. Enjoy.**

**stark40763: Glad everyone likes the plot twist.**

**Major Simi: Indeed.**

At Stargate Command on Level 16 a pair of fiery eyes snapped open, the sheer power overloading the Anti Prior device several feet away and plunging three levels into darkness. In a flash of fire she was gone.

Erica had dropped Tyler off at his dad's place once he was feeling better. She had offered to take May as well, to which the girl answered, "I'll say hi, but I'd prefer not to interrupt male bonding."

Tyler snorted but said he wouldn't mind if she did come. It would almost be like old times. He got kicked in the shin when his mom wasn't looking. May spent most of the trip thinking about Lisa of all people. She was in the house almost as often as Tyler was on the ship, and from the looks of things she was trying to get close to May. Every time Lisa showed up, May was given a hug, one on arrival and one when she left, and occasionally one for no reason. She used to stiffen up at the odd show of affection, but eventually started hugging the V back. Lisa was growing on her, not that she would ever admit it aloud. She shook herself out of it when the van came to a stop.

"May? Oh my god you're so grown up."

"Hi Dad." May said, giving him a hug. Then it was a race between she and Tyler to claim a room. May was faster, as she always was.

"What are you doing here Erica?"

"We should talk."

"You wanna tell me what's really going on?" Joe asked.

"Where's Tyler?" Erica countered.

"He's on the phone with his girlfriend. We both know that, you didn't bring Tyler here for him. And you wouldn't be here, if you didn't need something from me."

"I need you to keep them. Things in the city are crazy with work and, I'm barely home."

"Well work has always been busy; it's never been a problem before. Why now?"

"You might have noticed that the world has turned upside down since the Visitors arrived. I'm working, triple time. Please, Joe, they need you. I need you to do this."

"What are you not telling me?"

"Tyler's been sick."

Joe looked concerned, "That flu virus again?"

Erica barely had time to nod before Joe asked, "What about May, is she alright?"

"She's . . . stressed. I think getting out of the city will be good for her."

"What else?"

Erica hesitated, "Nothing."

"I'll take them, of course I'll take 'em. But you need to know that he thinks, that _he's_ the reason we split up. We can't let him carry that weight. It's time we told him the truth, about who he really is."

Lisa observed Tyler's morning via the PA jacket, glancing back at her mother when she entered.

"Where are we with Tyler?"

"He seems to have calmed his mother's fears."

"Yes he has. What of May?"

"She has accepted my presence enough to return my affections, but remains nervous. It won't be long until I find a way to ease those fears."

"But they still aren't here on the ship with you." Anna said, taking a step closer. "There will always be obstacles in your way. It's not if you remove them, but how. Get them."

"Lisa? What are you doing here?" Tyler asked after opening the front door.

"I missed you."

"Come on in."

As soon as she heard two sets of footsteps on the stairs, May lodged a chair under her doorknob, not wanting any surprises.

About three in the morning, Lisa heard a muffled thwump and May's voice hissing, "Damn stupid freaky dreams."

May was up before sunrise, meditating on the porch. Lisa had the ability to use Anna's telepathy, and Anna was the Visitor queen, making Lisa next in line. And the only reason the blonde was here was (most likely) to get them back to New York. Or maybe just Tyler. When finished, she went back inside to wait for breakfast. From the tree line, a pair of flickering orange eyes observed, patiently biding time.

"So you guys uh, met?" Tyler asked, not missing the 'are you stupid' look his sister gave him. _She's gonna kill me._

Joe looked surprised, and not in a good way. Lisa stared at May, who yawned and pointedly ignored her.

"Don't worry Dad I, slept on the couch."

May snorted and muttered under her breath.

"I swear. Lisa showed up late last night. Kinda surprised me."

"Surprised me too."

Tyler motioned for his dad to stand next to him and asked if Lisa could stay, saying he really liked her. Lisa stood behind May, twirling a lock of red hair around her finger. Its texture was silky and well cared for. Long used to it (Lisa often commented on May's hair), she let it slide.

"Good morning."

She reached back and pulled Lisa's hand away. "For you maybe."

Sitting next to her, Lisa whispered in her ear, "I heard you fall during the night. You said something about dreams. Are you feeling okay?"

May shivered at her proximity, "I'm fine."

Lisa cocked her head, "Are you sure?"

"Yes." She answered flatly.

Lisa gave her a once over and said almost too softly to hear, "You're cute."

_Why is Supergirl checking me out?_

"Tyler needs to know, that I'm not his father."

Lisa smirked, now she could drive a rift between Tyler and his father. Unfortunately the same thing wouldn't work on May. Her family was large and very close. Turning, she came face-to-face with the redhead.

"What are you doing?" she asked, suspicious.

"I was going to look for Tyler."

"Looked more like you were eavesdropping."

Thinking fast, Lisa decided to change the subject, sort of, "Are you angry with me?" Getting no answer she continued more softly, backing May into a corner, "I'm not going to hurt you or Tyler." She tucked a strand of hair behind May's ear. The poor girl looked stunned, offering no resistance when Lisa slowly wrapped her arms around her.

"Please don't be angry, it won't happen again I promise."

May went stiff, this was _wrong_. But the faster she acquiesced the sooner Lisa would go somewhere else.

"Okay. You can, stop hugging me now."

The V released her. Smiling, she tucked a strand of hair behind May's other ear before walking away. May's legs gave out and she slid to the floor, trying to get her breathing under control. What the hell just happened? Why was Lisa flirting with her?

_Adria . . . I'm sorry Adria._

Outside, the orange eyes looked sad. _I've been gone too long._

Everyone was on the porch later, May balanced on the deck rail, keeping her distance from Lisa. While Tyler was using a power saw, Lisa alternated between watching him and watching May. If their eyes met, Lisa would smile shyly and look away. The orange eyes narrowed.

"I'm thirsty, I'm gonna get some sodas. You want one?" Dad asked Tyler.

"Uh yeah."

"May?"

"I'm good."

"Can I get you one?"

"Please."

"Sure."

Lisa glanced at May, but before she could say anything Tyler walked up to her. She watched from the corner of her eye as May leapt with feline grace off the rail and landed on the deck. Something in her enjoyed watching; May was attractive, more so than a normal human female. To Lisa that was the reason their interactions could be seen as flirting; she was trying to draw May in like she had with Tyler, and it was starting to work.

"Listen. Um, my dad wants me to stay a few weeks. I'll still see you. I mean I really wanna see you. And I know it sucks but maybe, maybe this will help me and him fix some stuff."

Lisa looked unhappy.

"What?"

"I overheard something but I don't think I should say anything."

"What is it just, tell me?"

"I can't it's just not my place."

"Lisa please, it's okay."

"I think your father's been lying to you."

May's eyes, now bright turquoise, flew open.

Tyler glanced toward the door and back to Lisa, defensive, "About what?"

"I don't think he's really your dad."

Tyler's expression was one of denial. "Come on that's, that's ridiculous."

"I overheard him talking to your mom. I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have said anything."

"I'll bet you are." May snarled under her breath. Lisa had hugged her and driven the thought from her mind. And she _hated_ herself for it.

"Hey guys here we go." Dad said, carrying three bottles of soda.

Tyler gave him a look of disbelief.

"What is it, what's wrong?"

"There's a weird mix up going on here. Um, Lisa just said that she heard you talking to mom and you said something about you not really being my dad. I don't know, it's crazy."

Dad looked hurt.

"It's true? It can't be, this is me! And, and you."

"It's, it's complicated." Dad said with a glance at Lisa, her expression giving away nothing but wide-eyed pity. May stuck her tongue out.

"Don't you look at her." Tyler snapped, drawing Dad's attention back to him, "You lied."

"Wait-"

"Is this why you left Mom?" Tyler demanded.

"I couldn't trust her Ty."

May hid her face in her hands.

"What about us?" Tyler was on a roll as he gestured to his sister. So she was adopted, they were still siblings! "You left us too Dad. Feel duped raising somebody else's kids?"

_Leave me out of this._

"No, I love you Ty, you too May. I think you need to go talk to your mom about this."

Lisa looked away, her expression unreadable.

"Yeah I will." And with that Tyler and Lisa left, and no shouting from Dad could bring him back.

May stared after them with tears in her eyes, "Do you want me to stay Dad?"

Dad glanced at her and gave her a hug, "Oh honey, you don't have to stay if you don't have to." He took a deep breath, "What do you think of all this?"

"Do you love him?"

"I do love him."

When she spoke it was with wisdom, "Then it shouldn't matter. In my family the only one I'm related to is Daniel, but the rest of them love me anyway. I'm going after them. Love you Daddy."

"Love you too sweetheart."

The problem came when Tyler realized there were only two places on a motorcycle and three people. Well, two people and a V, but the point was somebody didn't have a ride, and all three had good reasons to be back in New York City tonight. And calling Mom was a bad idea.

"Now what?"

"We're almost sixty miles from home and we'd get good and lost before sundown." May said.

It was Lisa who finally called home (May couldn't resist the E.T. pun) and the requested shuttle arrived soon after. Lisa watched May during the short trip, asking if she liked it once they landed at the PA Center. May stared at her as though disappointed and said, "Too slow."

As the trio walked home, Tyler fuming to himself slightly ahead, Lisa asked about the "stupid freaky dream" that woke May up the previous night. The Ilva was perplexed by it, because she knew it had already happened. She had precognition thanks to her mother being an Ascended in human form, but retrocognition? She'd ask somebody about it . . . maybe. In the meantime,

"I saw a flying armored pyramid attacking a planet."

Lisa went still. She caught May's shoulder in an iron grip, almost said something, then decided not to. The trio walked in silence until the humans got home. Lisa hugged Tyler and then May (hers was significantly longer) and walked back to the PA Center.

May listened to the argument downstairs as she waited in Tyler's room. When he finally came upstairs and noticed her, May just held out her arms. Tyler spent a couple of hours crying.

"At least you can trust your family." He choked.

"At least you had Mom. Since I was thirteen I practically raised myself. I only had two close friends."

"At least you had friends. Anybody I know?"

_Well, one's a lizard and the other led a cross-galactic religious crusade. _"Nope." It was a long time before either of them went to sleep.

Lisa watched an outing with Tyler and May on a device the latter referred to as "an alien video playback system". She shortened it to alien video camera a few minutes later and stuck to it. May's resistance was diminishing; eventually she would trust Lisa completely. While Tyler placed a flower behind her ear, May had a ring of clovers around her head.

When she failed the empathy test, she tried any excuse she could think of: it was a mistake, a carryover from her mission to make Tyler fall in love with her and to earn his sister's trust, the test had to be wrong. But Joshua shot each one down with a V's efficiency, saying, "Your mother's directive was clear. Immolate anyone who fails, no exceptions."

Lisa felt sick as she paced back to her room and texted May, _Can we talk?_

_I'm coming._

May was back on the ship by early afternoon, waiting for Tyler and Lisa to show up. Her nostrils flared at the scent around them.

_He did not. And on a shuttle? _

"Oh my god you're on the ship!" Tyler exclaimed. May stared at him with an expression both cross and smug, "Oh my goddess you finished what you started in your bedroom."

Tyler went red.

"I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Goodbye Tyler."

"Bye."

When he was gone she turned to May and beckoned. Soon they were on a shuttle in high orbit.

"A few weeks ago we let Tyler use the Memory Chamber. When he was six years old, you showed him a drawing of a grey ring with symbols on it. You called it three different things and settled on Stargate. Do you remember that?"

May nodded, "Mom wanted it framed. Why?"

"It's real."

May blinked.

"Generations ago on our homeworld, there was a great Ring. It was used to exile those who rebelled or attempted rebellion against the queen. One day a flying armored pyramid that birthed strange metal birds arrived, with armored creatures carrying weapons we had never seen before. They called our Ring Chappa'ai, and they stole it from us, cutting us off from the rest of the galaxy. Slowly our world began to die. We used our ships to escape it, but not before we knew the identity of the ones responsible." She paused and looked May directly in the eye, "We called them threvast, strange serpentine parasites that were incubated by the creatures or burrowed into the neck of their host and possessed them, sometimes for thousands of years. They were led by what they called the System Lords, the Supreme System Lord called himself Ra. We hate them for what they did to us and called them blood enemies."

Now May was pissed. The damn Goa'uld were responsible for this? She wondered which one and if their death was appropriate.

"Did you learn which one took your Ring?" she asked timidly.

Lisa shook her head and pulled out an "alien video camera". She handed it to May.

"I want you to have this. It goes more in depth than I ever could."

May almost refused but Lisa placed it in her hands and stared pleadingly. The eyes of a person doomed to die.

The blood drained out of May's face, "What are they going to do to you?"

"Visitors aren't supposed to show emotion. My mother says it's a weakness. The empathy test . . . it shows, the worst of humans and, your reaction to it is measured, and if the result is higher than my mother's . . ."

"They execute you." May had reached a new level of pissed off as she pulled Lisa close and just held her. She'd been openly honest with May, wanting somebody to know why they left their home before she died. The ring flared feebly, acknowledging a friendship bond.

"If Tyler asks, you will explain?" Lisa asked softly, inhaling May's scent.

"I will."

It was late when the shuttle returned and the two were greeted by Joshua. "Lisa. Your mother's shuttle will be arriving from Geneva shortly. She's asked to see you when she arrives."

Turning to May, Lisa said softly, "You have to go."

May shook her head, glaring at Joshua with undisguised hatred. Lisa squeezed her hand, "Go home. Please."

"Bye Lisa."

"Bye."

May's glare unnerved Joshua, it reminded him of a creature humans called a basilisk. Instinct warned him to tread carefully and run if possible. The human's meaning was clear, 'if she dies, I'll hunt you down.'

Vala was wandering in a closed amusement park when she heard gunfire. Using a favorite expletive of May's ("Bloody hell."), she ducked into a white building. Noticing the shooter approaching a blonde woman, Vala moved quickly and knocked him out.

Erica jumped when the sniper's unconscious body fell in front of her. Standing in the building was a dark haired woman with what appeared to be a P-90 strapped to her hip.

"Hi there."

Lisa stood in a large chamber filled with water and growing soldier eggs, waiting for her mother's return.

"I've asked a lot of you with Tyler and May. You've handled it well. The future of our species depends on your leadership, your judgment." Anna lifted an egg from the pool and continued, "The soldier's egg is weak, but it can still teach us something. Our cause, our survival outweighs any sacrifice. There is no room for human emotion, for weakness of any kind." She placed Lisa's hand on top of the egg. Lisa watched her mother's expression, praying hers gave away nothing. Her mother's hands constricted around hers and the egg. The egg burst.

"Joshua told me you passed the empathy test." Lisa was shocked. "I never doubted you." As Anna walked away, Lisa fought to control her breathing. She was alive. She would see Tyler and May again. _She can keep my little gift._

Vala stood in a corner in a poorly lit basement with quite a strange group of people. The sniper was still out cold, suspended from what looked like a meat hook on the ceiling.

"Everything we have done, to fight the Vs, to protect people and a human betrays us." The blonde, Erica, said.

Hobbes got up and walked towards their 'prisoner', saying, "Well, maybe he can give us some insight into why." And then he slapped the guy. Vala observed closely, wishing she could take notes.

"Rise and shine sweetheart, you've got questions to answer."

"What's your name?" the priest, Jack, asked.

Mr. Meatsack just hung there.

"You're not going anywhere. Talk."

Finally, Meatsack said something, "I can't tell you anything."

"Why did you do it? Tell me why."

"Because we can't win."

**Three episodes in one chapter with four left this season. According to , Season 2 comes out October 18. I'm wired.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Major Simi: Either you read fast or I need to start altering canon. Oh wait, I'm already doing that.**

**stark40763: SG-1 will get there very soon. Will they join the Fifth Column? I don't know how it would work out with that many guns (and one or two Zats) in a crowded basement.**

**Greetings reality deviant! What do think so far? And that goes for anyone else who alerted or favorited my story. I'd like to hear from you.**

"Not with that attitude." Vala snorted at the same time Erica, demanded, "What do you mean we can't win?"

"The Visitors are too powerful," Meatsack rasped, "And they will do whatever they can to get what they want."

"You killed four men yesterday, what did the Visitors have to do with that?"

"They threatened my family. They said they would kill my wife, and my little girl if I didn't do what they told me to do. Why would I kill those guys, I had nothing against them!" And he continued his sob story while Vala checked her phone. Nobody had left any messages. Breathing a sigh of relief, Vala mentally thanked whoever was responsible for the distraction she used to escape, said distraction being the lights going out on Levels 15, 16, and 17. She hadn't stayed long enough to figure out what was going on, but did feel sorry about leaving Adria behind.

_Hello Mother._

Vala jumped. _Adria? Am I hearing things again?_

_Ha ha, not funny. By the way, I caused the distraction you used to come here._

_You did?_

_You're welcome. And since by going back we'll be in neighboring cells, _I've_ come up with a plan._

_My aren't we an arrogant Slytherin? What's the plan?_

_Using the cover May worked out as a child, you will be her aunt and I'll be her cousin. Anything else can be worked with when SG-1 gets here. And because the Odyssey was nearly detected by the mothership they'll have to come here and search on foot. The sooner we get in touch with May, the better, because they'll be stuck here just like us._

_Doesn't sound too hard._ Vala thought once she'd processed all that_. May's aunt and cousin drop in unannounced, relation to the cover story to be decided later, and SG-1 will have to search for us the hard way._

_I've even found an apartment. Granted, it was through less than moral means, but it's a roof over our heads, we've got climate control, water, electricity and cable. I've sent the address to your phone._

Vala checked the screen, and there it was. _I'm so proud of you, hiding in plain sight just like Mum._

_Don't let it go to your head. Stick to the story and everything will be fine._

_I'll take you word for it._ Vala blinked, refocusing on her surroundings. Jack was watching her.

"Are you okay?"

Vala nodded, "I'm good."

It was then that the mercenary decided to butt in, "In all this excitement we forgot about you."

Erica had her arms crossed. The woman had introduced herself as Vala on the trip back to the basement, and hadn't really reacted to learning the Vs were about as peaceful as a striking snake, that they were Fifth Column and trying to stop the Vs from doing . . . whatever it was they were planning to do. The sniper hadn't surprised her either, it was almost like she knew what was going on. Erica knew she wasn't the only one to have noticed; Hobbes didn't like having his back to the woman. She was a wild card, and frankly the mercenary wasn't sure she could be trusted.

Thankfully Erica intervened before Hobbes started "who's got the best aim" and somebody got shot, "What are you doing here Vala?"

Vala stared pointedly at the guy suspended from the meat hook and Hobbes slugged him, ignoring Jack's look of disapproval when Meatsack's head fell forward, unconscious.

"My daughter used the chaos of the Visitor's arrival to finish a semester's worth of assignments in college, including finals. She's on sabbatical now, thought she'd see her cousin and invited me along. Haven't seen either of them since Christmas, two years ago." Vala explained, only then remembering she couldn't name any colleges!

"Oh really? What school?" Erica asked, honestly curious.

_Help?_

"Oxford, philosophy major." Vala said, or rather, Adria said through her.

_I don't like this._

_Too bad._

When the phone rang Vala prayed it wasn't Daniel, "Hello?"

Adria surprised her again, "Mom? Are you coming sometime before morning?"

"Of course I am darling, I'm just getting a ride," she said before mouthing 'help me' to Erica. Taking pity on a fellow mother Erica nodded.

"I'm on my way sweetheart."

The ride was short and mostly silent, Vala mentally conversing with Adria on where they went from here. If correctly planned, they had enough food for two weeks, possibly three of one or both of them slept until they felt like getting up, and by sunset tomorrow at the latest May would know they were here. They both just prayed the Vs wouldn't find out. Of course knowing their luck . . .

* * *

><p>"Due to unforeseen circumstances it's critical that we advance our plans for you, Tyler and May. I'm going to ask him to join the Live Aboard Program. I expect him to accept my invitation. May's role in our plans won't be important for a while but it would be nice if she too joined Live Aboard. Tyler could spend as much time with his sister as he wants and May will open up to you, tell you her secrets."<p>

"Of course. I won't let you down."

"It's good Tyler trusts you. Have him remain on the ship until he is no longer needed."

"And then what?"

Anna said nothing, instead she walked away.

Tyler was in her mother's office when Lisa walked in.

* * *

><p>"Tyler's shuttle has just arrived. I thought you might like to share the good news with him."<p>

"So, so what's the news?"

"Your application for the Live Aboard Program has been accepted. Congratulations."

His face lit up, "That's amazing! Thank you." Then his expression fell.

"What is it?"

"My mom. She's not exactly going to, embrace the idea. And I haven't spent a whole lot of time with May."

"Of course, they're worried about you. Maybe Lisa can help ease their fears, explain the Live Aboard to them, tell them how wonderful it is to live on a ship. As for your sister, invite her to join Live Aboard with you. You could spend as much time together as you want."

"I'll stop by later."

* * *

><p>Qetesh was a highly intelligent Goa'uld. Vala was a highly intelligent host. But the host doubted the Goa'uld could understand something like <em>this<em>.

Adria had already claimed the bedroom, telling Vala, "Couch folds out. 'Night!" and slamming the door shut.

After midnight, Vala gave up and slept on the couch as it was, grumbling the entire time. The energy in Adria's pendant connected with May's ring, the ensuing burst of power going unseen by everyone including the Vs. Orlithe made sure they didn't see it, and she took an almost vindictive pleasure at the horrified look of Morgan's face when she did so.

* * *

><p>"Lisa." Erica greeted, half listening to the sounds upstairs. May was skipping around her room, the lyrics to some song she'd never heard floating throughout the house: "<em>Praise for the high tide, praise for the seaside, praise for the sun at high noon. Praise for the lightning, praise for the singing. Praise the father sun, and sister moon. Praise for the red dawn, grass that we walk upon, praise for the river's whispered tune. Praise for the wind brother, praise for the earth mother, praise the father sun, and sister moon. Praise the father sun, and sister moon.<em>"

"Hi Mrs Evans. Is Tyler home?" Lisa asked.

"Uh his bike wasn't out front; I figured he was with you."

"Can I um, come in and wait for him?"

"Please."

Lisa could hear the music from the upper floor. She could feel herself relax as it came closer, but couldn't give in to the Bliss-like effect in case Tyler's mother noticed and panicked. Her attention was drawn to May as the girl took the stairs two at a time, hugging Lisa and skipping into the living room.

"So you and Tyler have been spending a lot of time together."

"Tyler's like no one I've ever met. The way he sees things . . . he really wants to make the most of his life. May is already living her life to the fullest, but she doesn't seem to fit in time. Sometimes she speaks with wisdom beyond her age."

Erica nearly choked. _Oh thank god, I thought it was just me._

She could see her daughter in the living room, still humming, a bit louder, flopped on the couch with a well-worn copy of _Brisingr_. May's dreams were unusual ones even for a child. After a particularly vivid one involving a flying pyramid getting blown up via nuclear weapon (which she had neither seen nor heard of), she spent a week drawing a very detailed grey ring she called a Stargate. She'd explain by picking six symbols, the seventh looking like a pyramid with a sun over it, you could travel to other worlds.

"Well it wasn't always that way."

Lisa seemed to hesitate, the music distracting. She wanted to curl up next to May and fall asleep with that song echoing in her ears.

"I think the Vs showed him something new. Being Peace Ambassadors, it's given us both direction. Like the Live Aboard Program. Tyler's really interested in it."

Erica looked shocked. May stopped humming.

"He wants to live aboard the ship?"

Lisa nodded slowly, losing nerve.

"I didn't know he was considering it."

"What's wrong?" Lisa asked, watching May's approach from the corner of her eye. Two delicate braids encircled May's head, tied together in the back and flowing to the base of her neck. Her eyes were a bright turquoise and her ears appeared to have delicate points. She looked elven. It suited her.

"I'm sorry, I'm hearing this for the first time and it's from my son's girlfriend and I'm . . ." she trailed off for a second. May watched intently, eyes sharp when the flicked to Lisa. The human skin on her face felt oddly warm.

"I feel like he's slipping away from me and he doesn't know it and, I want him to be happy."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Evans."

"It's not your fault."

"It is."

May stood next to her and Lisa jumped, she hadn't seen the girl move. She squeezed her hand and waltzed back into the living room. Lisa couldn't help but stare. Grace, beauty, and untapped power radiated from this girl.

Tyler walked in about then, offering a bouquet of flowers. The flowers pulsed with life instead of clinging to it, Lisa could smell it. She asked if they could talk.

"I've been thinking . . . I don't know if it's the best idea for you to join the Live Aboard Program."

Tyler's expression was one of disbelief, "What? Why?"

"I've been talking to your mom. She really needs you Ty."

"That's nice but um, I don't wanna stay here. I-I wanna be with you. I thought that's what you wanted too."

The room grew cold, the flowers shivered and began to die, and May looked human. Lisa knew instinctively that the girl was responsible.

"What about your sister Tyler? Alone in this house every day? You've abandoned her."

He looked torn. He wanted to live on the ship with Lisa, but he wanted to spend time with his sister too. Either could leave at any time. Desperate, he turned to his sister, not noticing her limp hands holding the book open.

"I should go." Lisa gave the flowers back and walked away. While Tyler chewed out his mother, May followed Lisa, tugging at her sleeve. When she turned, May held her arms out, "Hug?"

Lisa was only too glad to oblige. The sudden chill of the house made her lethargic, May's warmth made her feel better. She didn't know how long they stood there, but Lisa pulled away when the night air got cooler. "Sleep well May."

"'Night Lisa."

When May went back into the house, she put the flowers in a vase. She knew they were already dead, but there was a way to sustain them a little longer. Remembering the reason she was so happy, flowers burst into bloom.

* * *

><p>"I thought I made it very clear how important it is to have Tyler living on the ship."<p>

"It's not the best move for us to make at this point."

Anna stared, waiting.

"His mother isn't ready to let him go. I feel I can be more effective with Tyler if I have her cooperation."

She was quiet for a second, "I trust your judgment."

"Thank you Mother."

Long after her daughter's departure, Anna remained where she stood. A peculiar scent clung to her daughter's human skin and clothing, one she recognized as May's. It was pleasant, exotic, and not entirely human. Her children would carry the advantageous genes, among them sharpened senses and heighted intelligence. However, beyond Lisa she avoided all things V, including the Healing Center. If her medical files were anything to go by, aside from twice-yearly full physicals beginning the year Dr Jackson adopted her she had never been ill. Her immune system seemed super-charged. Should May join Live Aboard, Anna could request she be scanned, for the girl's benefit of course. It shouldn't be that hard to convince her.

* * *

><p>Vala didn't want to know the reason for the happy squeal that came from Adria's room and woke her up. It just didn't fit the 'Obey me or die' persona Adria hid behind. And she really could have done without the sing-song voice she spoke with when she literally skipped into the sitting area and hugged her mother.<p>

"She knows were here! She's so happy Mother, I've never felt that from her! She wants to see us and soon, she'll send the address."

The bizarre light in Adria's eyes left Vala wondering who exactly May wanted to see.

"You know we'll have to walk some of the way right?" Vala asked, watching Adria skip into the kitchenette and take a huge bite of apple. Nodding, she swallowed and turned serious, "Be careful around the Fifth Column. Not all of them are as they seem."

"I will."

Adria hugged her again, "I love you Mother."

Vala almost cried. "I love you too darling."

Adria didn't feel like being subtle that day, and teleported them right in front of the house where May's adoptive mother lived. Vala was apprehensive; they were about to knock on a stranger's door. She half wished the ground would swallow her up, but Adria's confidence would not be denied. She knocked. Vala was surprised when Erica of all people answered the door.

"Yes?"

Now she really wished the ground would swallow her up, especially when May shouted, "Adria!" and the two shared a lover's embrace. Not like a cousin's _which is what you're supposed to be!_

_Oh shut up._

_Adria be nice._

Erica was surprised, even more so when she saw Vala standing there looking uncomfortable.

"Vala?"

"Morning." She replied apprehensively, watching the two girls. It was no secret at SGC that May had been a "guest" of Adria for quite some time. What nobody knew was what happened between them. Anyone stupid enough to spread rumors ended up in Dr. Fraiser's care, and the Napoleonic power monger was less than kind to them.

"Well don't just stand there, come on in."

The two girls pounded upstairs, conversing about good books, movie soundtracks and the best method for pulling an all-nighter. Adria described in depth a final she'd never actually taken before Vala refocused on Erica.

"May's your niece?"

"She's your daughter? Actually, that explains a lot."

Erica wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. "I was going to St. Josephine's."

At Vala's blank look she explained, "Fifth Column stuff. Did you wanna come?"

"Am I part of this group now?" After sighing, she continued, "I just got my daughter back, and haven't seen my niece in so long. I don't want to lose them."

"I'm not sure if you're in or not. The Vs seem really interested in my son Tyler, but not May. At least for now. Is your daughter interested in them at all?"

"She used their arrival to her advantage, and now that they've established themselves she can't use it again, so no." From upstairs was a shout of "_Allons-y Alonso!_" and what sounded like an explosion. A door opened, there was silence and then Tyler came running downstairs, "Mom, May's got a girl in her room!"

Vala hid her face in her hands. Erica rolled her eyes and said, "Ty, I think they're old enough to be responsible. Besides they're cousins."

Tyler looked half pacified. On one hand, it was good they were related, on the other, May had another person _in her room_, and _she_ could get away with it! He grudgingly let it go.

"May? I'm leaving." Erica shouted up the stairs

"Bye Mom love you!"

"Bye Tyler."

"Later Mom."

"I'm going with her Adria. Don't burn the house down."

"I won't!" she replied after some loud giggling. Erica glanced at Vala and raised an eyebrow. She shrugged and said, "Inside joke."

* * *

><p>Jack was beating a punching bag when they got there, at which point Erica said he was dropping his right (whatever that meant) and proceeded to humiliate him. Hobbes walked in with a comment about thorn birds, and then he turned to her.<p>

"You fight?"

"Yep."

"What style?"

"Don't really have one. My niece studies Ba Gua, my daughter favors Northern Xiolin. It would be interesting to see them fight." _Especially when near-Ascended abilities get involved._

"Jack!" a voice Vala didn't recognize shouted from the church.

"We need to get our hands on a stinger missile." He said abruptly, not noticing Vala yet.

Hobbes looked, well, like Hobbes, but he was clearly interested, "Finally some fun around here."

"What are you talking about Ryan?" Erica asked.

"Anna's sending down a shuttle filled with V trackers to hunt down those responsible for stopping her soldier. That would be us."

Vala's instincts demanded she keep her mouth shut, listening intently as this Ryan described how a "tracker" differed from a soldier, and how Anna would send another after them once the tracker identified them.

"When's the shuttle coming?"

"Six o'clock. But it's never gonna get here, 'cause we're gonna blow it out of the sky."

Vala's eyes widened as the argument continued until Erica gave the go ahead and Hobbes was on the phone. Only then did he notice Vala, and when he did his nostrils flared. "And, who are you?"

"Ryan this is Vala. Vala, Ryan. He's a V."

"Turned Fifth Column?"

She nodded.

That didn't really help matters. His instinct said kill. Hers said run. When nobody was paying attention he hissed in a low voice, "What the hell are you doing here threvast?"

Vala blinked, knowing exactly what the Visitors were thanks to that word. "I don't share my body with anyone, and when I did, it wasn't by choice." She glanced at Jack, Erica and Hobbes before going on, "They don't know about you-know-what, and unless you want to explain about the System Lords, I suggest hostility be kept to a minimum. Do we have an accord?" She held her hand out. Ryan stared at it before shaking it, "Fine." He hissed through clenched teeth. "But I'm watching you." She stuck her tongue out when he wasn't looking.

* * *

><p>Erica wasn't sure what to think. Kendrick had just asked her to lead the Fifth Column Task Force.<p>

_Great. More people to lie to._ Although in May's case she was only lying by omission. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a grey-haired man in green BDUs leaning against the door frame. He looked familiar.

"Well if it isn't Paul?" he greeted, looking for all the world like a cat that ate the canary.

Kendrick cringed. "Evening Jack."

Erica's eyes widened, "O'Neill?"

"Erica! How are things?" He asked. This _was_ May's adoptive mother after all. She looked stressed.

"I'm surviving." Was about the only honest answer she could give. "May's aunt and cousin came to check on her too, did you know they were here?"

Jack looked surprised, "No I didn't. But I'll call them and figure out what's going on tonight."

Kendrick was sweating bullets when he asked, "What can I do for you Jack?"

Jack rocked on his feet, "I was informed by somebody that you were being a hard ass. So, I thought I'd drop by, make your life hell, and check on my adopted great niece."

The memory that hit Kendrick was one he'd worked years to forget. May Lamont's murderous glare, an expression that didn't belong on a child, and her promising she would have her revenge. Erica had checked files later and discovered one Jonathan "Jack" O'Neill was the foster father of Daniel Jackson, May's third cousin and legal guardian. The girl had sent the Air Force after him.

_I am in some deep shit._

"By the way Paul, if you see a mutual friend of ours, tell him old Jack says 47. He'll know what I mean."

Kendrick dry swallowed as Jack left. He needed to inform Mr. Tremont. A quick drive to headquarters and he delivered the message exactly as he'd been told, "Mr. Tremont sir? Old Jack says 47."

"Did he point out anyone specific?"

"No sir. He seemed to know Agent Evans because of a little girl whose guardianship was transferred to his foster son. What does it mean if he does?"

"I don't have the clearance to tell you that Mr. Kendrick. However if he ever does point out anyone specific, you are advised to back off."

"Yes sir."

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry Mother. I've failed. Tyler won't be coming to Live Aboard. I pushed too hard and he doesn't wanna see me anymore. May feels that Tyler has betrayed her" and that was the only way to describe such an extreme reaction, "and has been isolated further. I did everything I could, but the pull of his family was too strong for him."<p>

"I understand. We'll have to find a greater incentive for him."

* * *

><p>In Adria's apartment, May's ring flashed and she cried out in pain, for a second seeing through Lisa's eyes:<p>

"_You were injured in a Fifth Column attack. Don't worry daughter, we'll get him back. There's no greater incentive for a human male than a damsel in distress." Turning to the nearby guard she ordered, "Break her legs."_

"May?" Adria was concerned. Her Ilva had become every pale, and that was the only warning before she ran to the bathroom and became violently sick.

**One more chapter before I have to stop. Season 2 comes out in ten days (I think) but unless I can arrange a Walmart run or go home one weekend just to get it, I may not have another chapter posted til after Thanksgiving. Apologies to my loyal readers. Midterms are this week and then I go home for Fall Break. Next chapter in progress.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Jojobevco: Thanks!**

**reality deviant: You ask many questions. I think I answered them all, but not until later in the chapter.**

**Major Simi: Thank you.**

**stark40763: Glad somebody has confidence in me. I will address as many of your questions as I can. I may use the Adria/Anna similarities as a joke, turning it against whoever brings it up. Tremont and O'Neill go way back. I'll show just how far back in the chapters to come. Will Valerie and the hybrid be saved? I'm not sure yet, and with Valerie giving birth and getting killed next chapter I'm running out of time ain't I? As for rescuing Diana, let's not get ahead of ourselves.**

Two months earlier:

A strange grey ship shaped like a dragon had integrated itself with the fleet, flying steadily along with them. After hacking into the fleet's data banks, three things were deduced:

1. This fleet would reach Earth in roughly two cycles of its moon.

2. Each ship would land at 538 predetermined sights across the planet and the ships' inhabitants would disperse to breed with human females.

3. One ship wasn't enough to give the Tau'ri a fighting chance before the fleet's arrival.

Pressing a button with a clawed finger, the pilot altered course. Five ships followed and the decimation began.

* * *

><p>The next morning a tired and irritated SG-1 left the airport with a triumphant Janet in tow. The good doctor had raised the roof when she found out what was going on and received permission to tag along.<p>

"Someone remind me why we're here?" she asked, glancing around.

"I haven't heard from May in a couple weeks." Daniel replied with a scowl. A morning without coffee made Daniel an irritated archeologist. Angry grumbling greeted his statement. May was eighteen, a legal adult in many societies both on and off world, if she didn't want to call Daniel then she shouldn't have to.

"Why else?" Janet pressed, already knowing. Jack had called the previous night; he'd gotten in touch with Vala and Adria and he was talking with an old friend about getting a couple places so they could be close to May and not stuck in really close quarters. Everyone else, particularly Sam, perked up at this question. May's "crush" on Adria wasn't exactly a crush anymore, and though Daniel accepted her orientation, he did not approve of Adria. She of course was aware of this and constantly rubbed it in his face.

"Daniel," Sam said warningly at the same time Cam said, "Jackson,"

Daniel cringed, "I'm pretty sure Vala and Adria are here."

"And . . .?" Janet was enjoying herself now.

"And I'm worried."

Janet couldn't help the smug look on her face right then, especially when Daniel looked her in the eye and said, "Oh shut up."

The subject was dropped when Teal'c spotted a Starbucks and an eager Daniel led the way from there.

* * *

><p>"Mornin' Lars!" Jack greeted enthusiastically, shaking his old friend's hand.<p>

"Good to see you again Jack. Now what can I do for you?"

Jack sat across from Lars in the corner of a local Starbucks, counting on his fingers how many people were coming and then going higher, "I don't suppose you know a couple places for twelve people do you?"

Lars nearly choked, "Twelve? Bringing the family Jack?"

Jack grinned, Lars knew the cover. May hadn't been overly thrilled if the kick to the shin was anything to go by. Janet said it was his fault.

"Yep. The whole clan."

"I can think of a couple places."

And for a while they went back and forth over which family would live where, because it would take a big house to hold twelve people. After narrowing it down to a nice pair of houses, one conveniently across the street from the other, Lars glanced up and his eyes widened in surprise.

"The clan's here Jack."

This time Jack almost choked, turning around to see Daniel making a beeline for the counter, the rest of the team and Janet sniggering behind him.

"Damn, knew they were coming but not this soon." Jack said while Lars laughed beside him.

"Think we should tell them?"

"'Bout you and your not so little project?"

"You do have clearance Jack. You can tell them as much about me as you want, but I can't tell all of my people about yours. Not many of them have the clearance." Lars gave Jack a sharp look, "Mr. Kendrick gave me your message. Is one of his agents part of your forty-seven?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I will let you know." Then Jack got up and tiptoed behind Daniel. Janet made a weird strangling noise and put both hands over her mouth.

"Danny Boy!" Jack shouted as Daniel turned around.

"Augh!" Daniel jumped and spilled coffee on himself. Janet lost it, leaning against Teal'c and howling hysterically. The linguist was pissed.

"Hello Jack."

"Is that anyway to talk to your father?"

Daniel blinked before scowling again, "Hi _Dad_. What are you doing here?"

"I found your sister-in-law and your niece."

"Vala and Adria? Where?"

"Not so fast there Danny." Jack slung an arm around Daniel's shoulders and beckoned to Lars, "You see Daniel, May knows her cousin is here, and they haven't seen each other in two years. If Adria suddenly disappears, who is May going to blame?"

"Me."

Jack lowered his voice, "And who will her grandmother be going after?

Daniel went pale, "Me."

"Oh yeah. Now, how's the rest of the family huh?"

"Hey Dad." Janet, Sam and Cam said at the same time. Teal'c merely bowed his head and intoned, "Greetings O'Neill."

"Family, this is an old friend of mine, Lars Tremont."

Lars waved politely.

"He's found us a couple places to stay so we're not crammed into one place trying to kill each other." Jack gave Daniel as stern look. He got the message. Leave Adria be, _or else_.

* * *

><p>May was at the Healing Center bright and early, and to the surprise of the humans present, including several FBI Agents, <em>she<em> was allowed to see the injured Visitor.

"Lisa?"

The blonde stared at her for a second before it registered, "May?"

May carefully put her arms around the V and didn't let go, snarling at anyone who got too close.

"That pretty song you sang, when I was over that night, can you sing it for me? Please?" and she looked so pitiful May obliged. Lisa's head rested against her shoulder and both of them closed their eyes. Though she was singing softly, her voice seemed to carry throughout the building. Every V turned toward the sound, letting it wash over them.

* * *

><p>Ryan and Jack went to Hobbes basement to explain what was going on. The man in question was standing at the base of the stairs watching Vala pace the room and rave against the Vs, swearing in a couple languages. Ryan identified one as the threvast tongue.<p>

"She been at this long?" he asked as Vala turned and punched the wall hard enough to leave cracks.

"Since she got here," he checked his watch, "Half an hour ago. Complaining about lizard child care, lack of supervision and how it was on par with snakeheads. I asked about snakeheads." He glanced at Ryan, "She tried to slug me. I've been standing here ever since."

When Ryan began explaining about Hobbes being on the news, again, only then did Vala stop.

* * *

><p>Tyler and Erica were shocked to find May already there. Lisa was asleep against May's shoulder, occasionally nuzzling her neck. May nudged her, "Tyler's here honey."<p>

Lisa whined, tightening her grip on May's arm, "'M sleeping. Make him go away."

"I can't."

"I don't want him to see me like this."

"He's right next to you."

Lisa cracked an eye open, slowly pulling away.

"I needed to see you. I needed to know you're okay."

May observed the Healer, Joshua if she heard correctly, tell her mom that Anna had injured Lisa.

"I didn't mean the things I said to you yesterday, about not wanting to see you. I do."

"Then why did you say them?"

"I was confused, and scared. I've never had feelings like this for someone before."

"Neither have I."

"I have." May said softly.

Lisa and Tyler looked at her. "It was, complicated, even more complicated than this." The little hairs on the back of her neck rose.

"Lisa it's time." Anna said, not noticing May standing there.

Tyler helped her up. As they left, Joshua was the only one to noticed May curl her upper lip in defiance. Joshua said under his breath, "Impossible."

"What's impossible?" Erica asked as her children embraced.

"In our culture, curling one's upper lip is a sign of great disrespect. To behave thus around the High Commander is taken as a challenge. I don't know where she would have learned it or how Anna would have reacted if she had seen, but I caution its use. Do you know her?"

"She's my daughter. Why, is Anna interested in her too?"

"She hacked May's records, noticing unusually heightened senses, intelligence, and a supercharged immune system. I don't know why this would interest her, but it was enough to give Lisa a side mission: lure her in just like Tyler."

"So she could have feelings for May?"

Joshua blinked, "It's possible."

_A bisexual V. Whoever's up there must hate me._

When Anna gave her speech a few minutes later, Lisa's eyes found May's. It was only a second before she averted them.

When May spoke it was with chilling intensity, "There is no earthly punishment great enough for someone who hurts a child. Especially their own."

Erica shivered. Tyler looked confused, sensing a double meaning.

* * *

><p>"Anna's lying, they're never leaving."<p>

"Then why make the announcement?"

"Aw, it's theater. The boo-hoo, the attack on the princess, she's puttin' on a show."

"Hobbes is right. Anna could have healed Lisa's wounds. But instead she left 'em for the world to see."

"The question is why. What is her interest in you and Parker?"

"I don't know!"

"Well we need to find out. Joshua said that Anna is the one who beat Lisa, slashed her face. She broke her legs."

"Wait, Anna did that?"

"Yes."

Vala, who had been quiet up to that point, stomped up to Hobbes, "Tell me you have a punching bag."

Hobbes pointed to it.

"How could she do that to her own daughter?" Jack asked once Vala started pounding away at the defenseless exercise equipment.

"'Cause she's a bitch!" Vala shouted.

"Because she's not human she's a Visitor." At Vala's dark look he elaborated, "And yes she is also a bitch. There's nothing she won't do to get what she wants."

There was a sharp ripping sound as the stuffing oozed from the punching bag.

"Oi! Those aren't exactly a dime a dozen you know!" Hobbes shouted. Vala's glare promised murder, so Hobbes quickly backtracked, "But I can easily find another one, carry on."

"Whatever Parker knows, it's important enough to Anna, that she would hurt her own child to engage our sympathies."

"And also get the FBI to help find him."

"Yeah. We want answers, we find Parker."

"Or we could ask your son."

"Don't make me shoot you Kyle." Vala warned, dusting herself off. All that remained of the punching bag were a few scraps and small pieces of stuffing.

"I will not bring Tyler into this, I will not use him." She continued when Hobbes opened his mouth, "Not my daughter either."

Vala snorted, "Use May? Anybody dumb enough to try that gets sent to the hospital!"

"Reconsider this Erica. I kept the truth from Val and look where it's got me. Anna's already using Tyler in this war. Bringing him in may be the best way to protect him."

"You saw what she did to her kid. Now if she's capable of that imagine what she could do to your son?"

"Use your contacts to find Parker, Jack, Ryan and Vala will follow up on your leads. If, she can keep herself from killing somebody."

Vala raised her hands,"I can control myself." Once Erica was gone, Vala turned to Ryan and asked, "And where did keeping the truth from this Val get you?"

"He got his human girlfriend pregnant." Hobbes said.

"You proposed then right?"

Everybody was thrown by that. "Uh, well, I was planning on it but-"

"Are you engaged?"

"No. She doesn't want to see me anymore."

"Do you mean to tell me that out there somewhere is a human carrying a hybrid baby?"

"Yeah."

Vala hid her face in her hands, "You idiot."

* * *

><p>"Cover front and back, in case he bolts, Vala, you're coming with me." A few steps from the car, Erica stopped and said, "The Mission Impossible theme is unnecessary." Vala just hummed it more quietly.<p>

While the nerd explained to Erica what he'd been doing, Vala grabbed a sample and stuffed it in her pocket. Jack called and said something about FBI. Vala got nervous.

"Okay, you and Ryan leave now, go. I'll figure it out. Vala, get moving, and don't get caught."

The former host slipped out the door and pulled something from her purse. Slipping it around her wrist, she became invisible, darting around FBI agents, and tripping at least two of them, before tearing across the street, taking off the bracelet and diving into the car, twisting in midair to land on her back.

Ryan just couldn't help himself, "Touchdown Vala!"

"And the crowd goes wild!" she replied, throwing both hands into the air. Jack laughed as they drove away.

* * *

><p>"Anna. Marcus." Erica greeted, praying what she was about to do didn't come back to haunt her. "May I speak with Lisa for a moment? Confronting one's attacker can be very, unsettling, and I'd like to prep her first."<p>

"Of course. Thank you." Anna replied, a bit to calm considering what had happened.

Once in her office, Erica grabbed two pictures, one of Tyler and a recent one of May, and held them both out for Lisa to see, "I want you to have these."

The hand near May's picture twitched before she took one in each hand, "What are they for?"

"I want you to take them into the lineup with you."

Lisa glanced at them, "Why?"

"Holding on to something that makes you feel safe, gives you strength. Trust me." Then she turned Lisa so Anna couldn't see her reaction, "Lisa, listen to me, very carefully. This man's fate and a whole lot more relies upon your telling the truth about who hurt you. You cannot condemn an innocent man." Outside, Anna cocked her head. What was taking them so long?

"You need to be one-hundred percent sure."

Lisa took a breath, "Mrs. Evans, what I said about those two men-"

Anna opened the door right then, "It's time my daughter."

Erica almost said something. Almost.

When the suspects lined up, Erica walked in, "Lisa remember, you can see them, they can't see you. Okay?"

Lisa nodded.

"Take your time, and remember what we talked about."

Of course Anna had to put her two cents in. Resting her hand on Lisa's left shoulder, she said, "I'm here. There's nothing to fear, anymore."

Lisa looked between them once, then glanced down at the pictures in her hand. Tyler, the sweet, if a bit misguided, human boy; and May, the oddly mature and powerful human girl. And despite what Erica wanted, the lure of the girl was too strong. She pointed to Parker and said, "It's him."

"Lisa, are you sure?"

"Positive."

Anna gave her a triumphant smirk. A few minutes later she walked up to Erica and said, "Thank you Agent Evans. You have no idea how much this means to me."

Erica nodded, "Of course." Glancing at the poor confused Parker, she asked, "What will you do with him?"

"Question him about his collaborators. Hopefully he'll lead us to his accomplice Kyle Hobbes and other Fifth Column."

"I want you to know that I am going to make stopping the Fifth Column my top priority."

"Then I'm sure we'll cross paths again soon."

"I'm not going anywhere Anna."

"As of this evening, neither am I."

* * *

><p>When May learned Daniel's reasoning for not telling her why Adria was on Earth, she almost brought the roof down. Adria pulled her close and whispered in her ear until the Ilva calmed. Then she turned and explained to everyone what was happening in the Ori galaxy:<p>

"The Ilvar received word how close they came to being destroyed thanks to the actions of the Ori. They're slowly dismantling the Ori power base, reducing them to the level of normal Ascended beings. The process is slow, for Origin has been their way of life since they were born. Being half-Ori, I can sense that faith-based power growing weaker by the day. It was the Ilvar's suggestion I return to this galaxy, in case the humans didn't understand I'd been lied to as well. I took one ship, maybe the only one left of the fleet. Since then I've been meditating on various worlds, trying to learn as the Ilvar did. I've met some of the Sirians-" here she winked at May, who flushed and grinned back. "They were very friendly, and at least one member of each Clan could speak Tau'ri English. Almost two months ago I was meditating on a quiet forested world, it's the same season there as it is here I think, and I blacked out. I woke up in a cell on Level 16 at Stargate Command. Across from me was an Anti Prior device and a lizard who pointed to herself and rasped, 'Delta'. She had found my pendant and wanted to give it back."

May smiled, "How was she?"

"She looked fine. Made sure I would be treated well before she left. Given the presence of these Visitors I was a lesser concern. While they all panicked, even with a little inside information coming in, I read minds and learned what was going on. Two weeks ago the information cut off, and my mother planned to check on you in person. I had the same idea, and I used my pendant to repress the Anti Prior device, gathering enough power to black out three levels and escape. My mother used the distraction to her advantage."

Daniel kicked himself. He hadn't asked what Adria was doing there; he'd used his Zat before he was consciously aware of it. Only Vala checked on her frequently. He apologized and both Adria and May accepted, though they looked too smug for his liking.

"Alright May, we're all here and not going anywhere. You wanna tell us what's going on?"

May glanced at Vala who just blurted out, "The Vs are some type of Sirian."

"And you know this, how?" Jack inquired.

May stepped in, pulling out the alien camera Lisa had given her and explained, consulting the device every so often until coming across Ba'al's symbol.

"Vala?"

The former host took a deep breath and launched into it, "Back when Goa'uld used the Unas as hosts, Ba'al was looking for a suitable replacement for them. He came across a world with, for lack of a better description, humanoid lizards. He thought they would make better hosts, but symbiotes' jaws got stuck in the lizards' scales. They were immune to Zat guns, and staff blasts just made them angry. So he took their Stargate and left. I'm guessing that's how he knew so much about Stargates. He never told anyone how he isolated them, and anyone who went searching for them never could find them. I guess I shouldn't be surprised they left on their own."

Adria chipped in, "They can smell the naquadah in her blood. Because the Goa'uld use naquadah to power their technology, the Sirians and the Vs altered their technology to work against it. If you ever came in contact with a symbiote, you won't be able to use V technology."

"Okay let me see if I've got this. First, the Vs are a branch of Sirians related to and the cause of the exiles. Second, Ba'al took their Stargate thus causing the genetic hatred between snakes, snakeheads, and Sirians. Third, the Vs screwed with our planet on multiple levels in order to look like saviors?"

Adria snorted while May said, "When you put it that way, I guess so." Then she turned serious, "When my brother was fourteen, he crashed his bike and ruptured his spleen. The blood work didn't match up and the doctors said Dad wasn't Tyler's father. He is, but the Vs messed with thousands of mothers and babies, with Tyler and twenty-eight others surviving." She could see dawning comprehension in each of their eyes, "The ships are here to watch the survivors, and Tyler's got the ATA gene."

Jack sat up straighter, "Which parent?"

"Mom."

Jack's eyes narrowed, he'd have to get Kendrick to back the hell off and send word to Lars personally.

Adria watched May closely. She was swaying on her feet, emotionally exhausted. Nodding to her mother, who launched into an explanation of the Fifth Column and how she was an honorary member (no one was surprised), Adria led May upstairs to her room. It was mostly a warm color scheme, with yellow walls and brown carpeting.

"What's wrong?" she asked, pulling May next to her on the bed.

"I'm glad you're here. I missed you." May admitted, leaning into her side. Adria hugged her. The two sat in silence for a while, just letting the emotions flow between them.

"For a minute, when Lisa cornered you at your father's house, when she was so affectionate, I thought you had moved on."

May pulled back and stared at Adria like she'd grown a second head, "You thought I'd dumped you for a lizard?"

Adria had the good grace to look embarrassed.

"Lisa's sweet, are far as Vs go, and I think she's developing human emotion, but she's Tyler's girlfriend not mine. I prefer you."

Adria blushed, thankful her complexion was darker than May's. She gave the Ilva a warm smile, amused by just how red her cheeks got.

"I get the feeling there's more to that statement."

May's blush darkened before she looked Adria straight in the eye, "I love you Adria."

Adria hugged her tighter, eyes suspiciously bright, "I love you too May."

May was thrilled. Adria loved her back! They wouldn't be alone! Outside, the flowerbeds exploded into bloom and a breeze picked up. When Vala walked in a few minutes later, May was asleep in Adria's arms.

"Bet she's comfortable."

Adria nodded before turning to her mother.

"Since they're sticking around I'm staying with the Fifth Column. They decided not to tell anyone about what's going on with them and this way we have three sources of information. What the Vs say, how the Fifth Column reacts, and her visions should she have another." Vala whispered.

Again Adria nodded, "We'll have to take her home soon. Is there a way to contact the other Sirians?"

"I don't know. Everyone at the mountain's worried about using the Stargate, in case the Vs detect it and want to get involved. I'm guessing the standard don't-break-her-heart-or-else would fall on deaf ears?"

"She loves me and I love her. And you can tell Daniel I said that." Adria snapped.

* * *

><p>"The fleet you sent from our home planet will enter the solar system soon. It won't be long until they enter human radar range."<p>

"We'll piggyback our software into their law enforcement and military computers. Disable their radar, so they can't detect our ships. They'll see what we want them to see, nothing more."

"Fear of the Fifth Column is spreading like wildfire throughout the twenty-nine ships. I've never seen such worry in them."

"They just need their queen to assuage their fears."

* * *

><p>Six other dragon ships had answered the call, each leading five ships away at a time before turning and firing a beam weapon at the first ship. The ensuing explosion took out all five, but the explosions were so destructive there was no debris to collect, nothing to study. They didn't even know what they were destroying.<p>

In the space of two months, the first dragon-ship had destroyed thirty war vessels, with each other ship taking out fifteen apiece. Total, 120 vessels had been destroyed, but they were running out of time. They needed help.

**I spent a weekend meant to be studying for midterms typing this up instead. Oh well, I'll be fine. Okay I was mistaken, there's another chapter after this. Only Red Sky remains, and the pieces are coming together.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Major Simi: Since you asked nicely.**

**Jojobevco: The Furlings? Good guess, but no.**

**Stark40763: Yep. Here at last, making their premier on the galactic stage! Or are they? . . . May's cover story stretches the truth pretty darn far, but I think it's easy to understand. I'll post that on my profile. Working on the hybrid situation.**

**I'm thinking this chapter will be a long one.**

The dragon-ships despaired. The Tau'ri homeworld, Earth, loomed before them. Roughly a third of the armada was destroyed but it hadn't helped. Concerned, the pilot of the first ship, the _DS_ _Fantasy_, sent word to their Ambassador below, informing her of the situation. She did not keep them waiting.

_Armada foreseen. They call themselves the Visitors. They learned of our presence when humans harnessed the power of the atom – and split it in several violent explosions. Experiments were done on thousands of human mothers and their unborn children, usually males, only 29 survived to adulthood, including my adopted nestmate Tyler._

Shocked hisses rang out, but she wasn't finished.

_There is a V mothership over each home city of these survivors to keep an eye on them. These 29 are missing half their DNA, the other half will be replaced with advantageous genes extracted from humans in their 'Healing Centers' and the Live Aboard Program. One of these 29 will mate with queen's daughter._

_They recognize the word threvast, and since a threvast would get pissed off and being called such, there is only one place they could be from. I hate to say it, I really do, but you could be facing civil war._

Dead silence greeted this. Finally _Fantasy_'s pilot turned to her second-in-command and rasped in her native tongue, "Send word to the Heads of Clan. Summon the War Council."

Three ships remained behind while four, including _Fantasy_, departed. The remaining three, _Symphony_, _Prudence_ and _Wicca_, had standing orders to remain cloaked unless the armada harmed the planet in any way.

* * *

><p>May entered the kitchen a few minutes later and swiped Tyler's orange juice. Erica rolled her eyes and poured him another one while he sat there with one arm outstretched to grab it.<p>

"Really?" Erica didn't believe it.

"She even invited us up for dinner, I mean just you, me, May, Lisa and Anna."

May's eyebrows went up. It was awfully presumptuous of Anna to think Tyler and family would drop everything and eat with her.

"Well, I can't speak for May, what with her family in town and all, but I'd like to go." Erica said. Tyler turned to May with a hopeful expression, "I think Lisa likes you-" Erica paled slightly, "And, Anna wants to meet you."

May blinked at him, thinking hard. Anna knew about what set her apart medically and academically. She was probably dying to know what set her apart genetically, but May would Ascend and battle Morgan le Fay before letting a male V get near her. On the other hand, she could get information straight from the queen's mouth, play the anthropology card. Or just get on her nerves.

"Okay."

"Really?"

May said nothing, feeling a vision coming on. She turned and dashed upstairs, getting flashes of things- a V soldier, a sleeper V name Leah Pearlman, and Ryan's girlfriend Valerie. She was in labor and the soldier had tracked them down.

_Oh hell._

"O'Neill residence, Jack speaking."

"Get the others over there and put me on speaker Uncle Jack."

* * *

><p>Vala skidded around the doorway and managed to stay upright. "Sorry I'm late. What'd I miss?"<p>

Hobbes summed it up, "Anna's eggs are about to hatch and unless we poach them we're dead."

Vala looked ill, but shook it off and came back with, "Egg jokes? Seriously?"

Hobbes smirked.

* * *

><p>"What's going on?" asked Ryan the soon-to-be father.<p>

"Agent Evans is going to scramble some V eggs." Vala said.

Erica faced her with an expression of stunned disbelief, "Do you have any tact at all?"

Vala tuned almost everything else out, staring at Ryan. He didn't look very good.

"What's she gonna do?" Hobbes asked, pointing at Vala.

"I don't think there's anything I can do." _Except __maybe __get __on __that __ship __and __grab __Mommy __and __hatchling._

"Alright Vala. Stay safe."

"Aye-aye captain."

Erica looked annoyed.

* * *

><p>"The armada of ships from our home planet have arrived ahead of schedule. They're within striking range of Earth."<p>

"Keep them cloaked and at bay. We don't want them revealed until we're ready for the next stage."

"Tyler's mother is joining you for dinner tonight as planned?"

"With Agent Evans as my ally on the ground, and my newborn army, the humans won't know what hit them."

* * *

><p>As Ryan dashed down the hallway, he sensed a presence behind him.<p>

"Threvast?"

"Moron?" came Vala's voice from right next to him.

"You're coming?"

"Yes."

"Oh fine!"

* * *

><p>Tyler escorted his mother and sister to the shuttle and asked, "Ready for dinner?"<p>

"Yeah, I'm ready." Erica replied. May just nodded.

"Don't embarrass me?"

"Okay."

May's smirk did not bode well in the don't-embarrass-me-in-front-of-my-girlfriend department.

Three guards in a V formation (_How__original_) stepped forward, the one in front saying, "Welcome aboard Agent Evans. There are no firearms or any personal items allowed in Anna's private quarters."

Erica handed her gun over. Yes, she had actually brought a gun. Oh the sheer irony.

"Your bag."

"You don't trust me with my purse?"

Tyler leaned to the right and said, "Mom, they're just trying to be safe."

"What if I get a call from work?"

"You can keep your phone. I'm sorry ma'am, it's our policy."

_I bet you are._

But that didn't stop Erica from handing the thing over.

Only then did the guards step aside and let them pass.

"Erica, Tyler. Welcome to the ship." Anna greeted. The little hairs on the back of May's neck stood straight up.

"Thank you for inviting us to your home." Erica replied.

"I'm thrilled you could make it."

"Hello Mrs. Evans."

"Hello Lisa. It's lovely to see you."

Lisa glanced at May, giving her a once over. An appreciative once over. May had braided her hair. She was wearing a v-neck sleeveless white top, a knee-length forest green skirt, and a pair of flats. Her ring, a blue jewel set in a silver band, glittered as though alive.

"May." Lisa greeted with a nod.

"Merry meet Lisa. Are you feeling better?"

"I am, thank you." she replied, nostrils flared. Something had changed. May's human scent was fading, replaced by something else.

Anna watched the girl, intrigued. May was not impressed with the ship and would only speak to her if spoken to.

"Good evening May."

May bristled.

This would be harder than she thought. "Please, I'll join you in a moment I have a matter to attend to."

* * *

><p>"It must be challenging being a single mother isn't it?"<p>

"Well it can be difficult at times but uh, it's worth every minute."

"Head of the task force, a teenage son and daughter, how do you do it all?"

"Same as you, I guess."

"Lots of worrying?" Tyler butted in. May kicked him under the table.

"Okay now I am sure that the Visitors have over-protective mothers too right?" Erica's question was directed at Lisa.

"We do. We just show our feelings differently."

May raised an eyebrow.

"Erica, I want you to know you have nothing to worry about. We're gonna take wonderful care of Tyler when he comes to Live Aboard."

"Do you think it's safe, with the Fifth Column?"

_Anything Vala gets involved in could go wrong._

_I resent that!_

_Shut up._

"Mom, come on." Tyler said, exasperated. For the second time that evening, May kicked him.

"I'm sorry."

"Between the two of us, I'm sure we'll make certain it's safe." Then she turned to the girl, "You don't have to worry either May. Tyler won't be far and you can see him whenever you want. Or you too could join Live Aboard, avoiding the separation entirely."

May eyed the alien leader. Anna's gaze was too calculating.

"I've never applied for Live Aboard."

"You can at a Healing Center."

"I have yet to require a trip there. I haven't been sick in a while."

"Something simple then, perhaps a vitamin shot?"

"I don't trust foreign medicine and they aren't my doctors."

Though Anna's expression hadn't changed, her eyes looked annoyed.

Erica smiled; her daughter had been raised well.

"But this is a social occasion. May I pour you some more?"

"I would love that thank you."

"May?" Lisa asked, indicating the glass . . . that was still full.

"I'm good." _Anna __has_ no _taste __in __wine._

Down on Earth, Adria's expression was a satisfied smirk. Anna might have no taste in wine, but _she_ did . . .

Anna decided to try a different tactic; despite the sibling bond between May and Tyler, the pull of her mother was too strong. Blinking, she considered a possible reason why: the Vs offered her nothing personally. She didn't need a Healing Center (and at this rate never would), had no interest in being a Peace Ambassador, and had only boarded the ship three times.

"Is there nothing about us that interests you?" Anna inquired.

"Your language." May replied, a challenging look upon her face.

Anna froze. Erica wished she'd had a camera; the V queen's expression was priceless.

"Our language is difficult for humans to learn-"

"I'll teach her mother." Lisa cut her off.

Anna blinked. Her daughter seemed interested in May, different from her interest in Tyler. A deeper, more instinctual interest. How odd. By the time she turned back to May, the girl was nibbling at something and quickly took a bite. By making sure she was eating something, the High Commander wouldn't be able to talk to her.

* * *

><p>"Your ship is beautiful, but you must get homesick. I know I would."<p>

"It's been difficult yes."

"High Commander." A voice interrupted. "We need to move you to a secure location."

"What happened?" Anna demanded, rising.

"Fifth Column. We're being attacked."

"Tell Marcus to return to the ship immediately."

"I can help, I need my gun." Erica said, ignoring May's don't-leave-me-with-the-alien-leader expression.

The guard glanced at Anna.

"It's okay, she's an ally."

Moments later the ship was locked down, a few guards, Anna, Lisa, Tyler and May stuck in the executive suite. May let her senses range out, stopping when she picked up thousands of young life forces. They were packed tightly together in a small space. A wave of death slammed her in the head and May cried out in pain.

Lisa was at her side instantly. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Migraine." May rubbed at her temples. Lisa pulled her closer and hissed very softly. Tyler stared helplessly. _Not__again._

May pulled energy from her ring to ease the pain somewhat. It wasn't working, in fact it became worse. Time dragged on, and May eventually took a nap on Lisa's shoulder.

* * *

><p>"Thank you. Shooting that terrorist saved many lives."<p>

"To protect the Visitors. That's my job now Anna."

"Did you get a good look at the shooter?"

"No, the pillars were in the way. I saw he had a V uniform."

"He wasn't a V. He was a human."

"What?"

"My security team reported that a human infiltrated the ship, and stole a V uniform. They're still gathering the details."

"Anna I'm sorry. If there's anything I can do . . ."

Anna spotted Chad. "Excuse me."

Erica turned to her children, noting May looked ill.

"Migraine honey?"

She mumbled into Lisa's shoulder, "'M sleeping. Make her go away."

Lisa smiled, nudging her until she woke up.

A few seconds later Anna was back, and Erica said, "Anna, thank you for an eventful evening."

"I hope we can do it again sometime."

"You can count on it."

"Ty, May, let's go."

After both teens got a hug from Lisa (May got a nuzzle this time), the family returned home. And once they got there, May grabbed a larger crystal with one hand and held her ring against it with the other forcing the extra energy into it. The crystal turned blue, the energy within swirling chaotically. With nowhere to go, it bounced off itself and the crystal walls like a possessed lava lamp.

* * *

><p><em>Symphony<em>, _Prudence_ and _Wicca_ were on high alert. A strange red mist was released by the armada and slowly encasing the planet. They didn't even wait for a reading to come back.

"_Does __a __red __sky __count __as __harm?_"

"_Yes._"

"_Let__'__s __not __sit __here __and __watch __this __then!_"

Red Sky Day 1

After going to bed, the pain returned. May grabbed a pillow and sunk her teeth into it. She could see her body changing before her eyes. If this kept up she'd be a full-blooded Ilvar before a week passed. The sun chased away both the night and the pain. May almost cried with relief. She had a few hours respite before it happened again.

A line of communication opened between the dragon ships and the rest of the armada.

"_Why __are __you __here?_" voiced the pilot of _Symphony_.

"_We __are __here __to __breed __with __the __humans.__The __queen __commands __it._"

_Wicca_'s pilot snarled, but to the armada the ship appeared alive.

"_We __have __lived __for __generations __without __the __need __for __a __queen. __You __could __be __free __from __her._" Deep down, the Sirians knew a snowball had a better chance in hell than a V soldier defecting from the queen.

A couple ships from the armada turned, and a young voice asked, "_Free?_"

"_You __look __like __a __cartoon __character._"

"_Oh __shut __up!_"

"_Free._" _Symphony_'s pilot confirmed, ignoring the bickering of the other two pilots. The two ships backed away from the armada, swinging behind the dragons. A signal on their frequency later, a fourth dragon appeared and led the V ships away. No others came forward. Progress had been made, but they knew their only chance to do any good was to take prisoners.

"_We __have __a __long __way __to __go._"

Red Sky Day 2

May woke up in time for the pain to start. It wasn't quite as bad as the previous night, but with her luck it would get worse. Across town Adria winced in sympathy.

_Adria? What's happening?_

_The stress brought on by the Vs forced your body to change more quickly. Give it a couple more nights and you'll be fully Ilvar._

_I wish you were here._

_No one is allowed to be with a half-blood when this happens. I can be with you in spirit, nothing more._

May cried, _It __hurts __Adria._

_I __know. __I__'__m __sorry._ Blinking, she returned to the real world. The only good thing that happened the night Anna's eggs were destroyed was Janet's arrival with one freaked out Leah Pearlman. Awkwardness ensued.

Janet and Leah had gone to medical school together; learning the former dealt with aliens on a daily basis and the latter _was __an __alien_ sent them both toppling to the floor in a dead faint.

Vala explained what had happened to the hybrids family (mother dead, father a prisoner, hybrid doomed to life as a guinea pig) before locking herself in an extra bedroom upstairs. Leah was impressed that Vala had tried. It took guts to just waltz onto a V mothership, although from the faded scent of threvast around her, she'd had technological help. After shouting up the stairs she didn't blame Vala, her thoughts turned to the hybrid.

Everyone crowded into the basement to hide from the red sky. The basement itself was like a fully furnished apartment so they could have hot meals, but food still had to be rationed. It was into Jack reassuring his buddy Lars that everyone was alright and shouting at Kendrick just because he could that Leah plopped next to Adria on the couch. Nibbling a cracker, she gestured to a raving Jack and asked, "Is this normal?"

Adria didn't even look up from her beaten copy of _The __Hound __of __the __Baskervilles_, "Yep. It's worse because we're all stuck down here until the sky turns blue in," she closed her eyes, "A little less than two days."

Leah blinked, apparently the universe was bigger than she thought. To which Adria launched into an abbreviated history of this galaxy, touching on Ascended beings, the rise and destruction of the Goa'uld, their enemies, and a rising galactic power with ships rumored to look (and occasionally behave) like dragons. Dr. Pearlman learned that day it was possible to faint sitting up.

Communications reopened with the armada. No progress was made, until _Wicca_'s pilot said the worst possible thing, "_You__'__re __just __like __the __threvast!_"

Bitter snarls erupted from the armada, and sixty ships broke formation to attack the dragons.

"_Oh __hell._"

"_FALL __BACK!_"

The dragon ships retreated past Mars, where they could blast this portion of the armada into oblivion without doing further harm to the Tau'ri homeworld. 296 ships remained.

Morning arrived. May had no appetite. _Not __much __longer._

Red Sky Day 3

The Sirians aboard _Symphony_ and _Prudence_ wondered if _Wicca_'s name should change to _Wicked_. Or at least the pilot's name. After the sixty ships were destroyed, _Wicca_ raced back to the armada and opened fire. While dodging beams of a strange blue energy themselves, (They actually _had_ weapons! Who knew?), _Wicca_ flew around to the dark side of the planet, several explosions and incessant cackling letting everybody know who won. The ship had even started acting crippled, attracting ships by the dozens like ticks drawn to blood. It was freaking out the humans below, and that panic increased when the ominous red clouds suddenly turned purple and billowed towards the ground.

The ships were difficult to count now, and unless backup came soon they were, in Earth terms, royally screwed.

Red Sky Day 4

May had been unconscious for most of the third day, and when she awoke that morning she was stiff and very sore. The house was empty as she took a shower and changed out of her pajamas, exchanging them for a pair of sweatpants and comfy t-shirt.

She glanced at her reflection in the full-length mirror and swore. Her mother's genes had taken control, and she looked _like __a __freakin__' __elf_! From the slender build, to the pointed ears, to the cat-shaped turquoise eyes, _I __am __one __with __my __mother__'__s __people._

_Welcome to the family Granddaughter._

Above her and past the red sky, three dragon ships engaged in brutal combat with the armada. Of the original 538, 2 had chosen freedom, and 250 remained intact. After the sky rained red, it would turn blue again.

**Okay (takes deep breath) . . . apologies to my loyal readers and reviewers, but I won't have V Season 2 anytime soon, in fact it will be like Thanksgiving unless I beg my parents until they crack.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Major Simi: Thank you.**

**Stark40763: It is a nice dream. Unfortunately when I jumped the canon tracks I forgot about them, so they still committed mass suicide. (Loki walks in with a Rubik's cube) Well, most of them.**

May was reluctant to leave the bathroom. She glanced at her reflection, blinking in confusion. Placing her hand against her reflection on the mirror's surface confirmed that yes, this being was her, but she could barely pass for human. She had the build of a runner, had lost weight she wasn't sure she could safely lose, grown three inches taller, and a pair of huge turquoise eyes stared back at her. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she traced the delicate point and muttered a few choice Sirian curses. She'd turn heads at the mall no doubt, and she wondered if the now obvious differences would make Anna's top scientists drool. Anna herself would foam at the mouth; there was just no way to hide something like this!

_Well, how do you look?_

_Wouldn't you like to know?_ May teased, closing her eyes.

_Oh come on! I've been stuck here with SG-1, Aunt Janet and her V friend from medical school! I wanna see what you look like._ Adria whined. _Please?_

_I'll talk Mom into a trip to the mall._

_Meet you there?_

_NO! You can wait and see just like everybody else alright?_

_. . . you owe me._

_I love you too. I have to go, the Sirians are calling._

May shut out Adria's disappointed grumbling as she walked to her room to dig up her contact device.

"_Yes?"_

"_Did you hear about the Red Sky?"_

"_I didn't. I was unwell."_

" _. . . Have you recovered?"_

"_I have."_

"_The queen claims Red Sky will undo the damage the Tau'ri have done to their world. In reality it raises levels of phosphorus across the globe."_

May swore aloud, causing Wicca to chuckle. _"Can it be reversed?"_

"_We have not the technology aboard our ships to do so."_

"_And the armada?"_

"_Of the 538, 2 defected and 286 have been destroyed. 250 remain. What is that strange ringing sound?"_

"_That's the phone. Either my mother or somebody from SG-1."_

"_Or your mate?"_

"_Shut up. She doesn't need a phone to contact me." _May snapped, turning off the device.

In orbit around Mars, Symphony rounded on Wicca, _"You have absolutely no tact."_

"_Nope!"_

Prudence observed from a distance as the _Dragon Ship Symphony_ raised a paw and swung it into _DS Wicca_'s head.

"_OWIE!"_

May rolled her eyes at the phone. Only Tyler would be stupid enough to go to the PA Center with so many other people freaking out. With no answer from her mother May called Vala instead. The former thief explained she was outside New York State University, invisible, and she'd call back because a Tracker was headed her way.

Vala moved to the side of the van and waited for Hobbes to do something. She wasn't kept waiting. Hobbes opened the door and the V slammed into it, hitting the ground hard. Hobbes had a gun trained on it when Ryan started beating it up.

"Whoa, whoa ease up!"

"Get off me Hobbes!"

Vala used Erica's appearance to sneak back behind the van.

"What happened?"

"Somebody's got anger issues."

Ryan shoved an immolation pill down the Tracker's throat and watched him disintegrate. It was a new voice that startled Vala, "What the hell was that? That did not just happen."

"That was a Visitor." Erica explained. "He's after your boss."

"I thought the Vs were of peace."

Vala snorted, Ryan's eyes flicked in her direction.

_Using threvast tech again, huh Vala?_

"That's what they want you think." He said aloud, turning back to the new guy.

"If that thing had gotten to your boss, there'd be nothing left but pieces."

"That, that thing, that Visitor, I don't think it was after Dr. Watts. I think it was after me."

Erica grabbed his arms and dragged New Guy towards the building. Hobbes quickly followed while Ryan trailed behind.

"That you Vala?"

"No it's Apophis, who do you think?" Vala snapped, falling into step beside him.

"What's your plan?"

"Duck into the nearest Ladies Room and turn visible again." She replied, her voice fading as a door opened seemingly by itself. Vala emerged a second later, fully visible, and ran to catch up.

"Hello Erica."

"Hi Vala." Erica greeted, stopping in the middle of the hallway and looking confused before deciding she probably didn't want to know. Turning to the new guy she asked, "Why do you think the Visitors are after you and not Dr. Watts?"

"I think it's just easier if I show you." And boy did he. In his private lab was the partial skeleton of a V, named Alpha of all things, that had been here for 50 years. From there it turned to scientific talk and Vala got bored.

"Who're you?" New Guy asked, noticing Vala for the first time.

"Vala. You?"

"Sidney. How'd you get sucked into this?"

"I came to check on my niece."

Sid flopped onto the couch and said, "Anna's a lizard? That sucks she's so hot."

Vala snorted again.

"Sorry, I joke when I'm nervous."

Talk turned to science again, but Vala did pay enough attention to get a V anatomy lesson and confirm what May had told them.

"So first they wanna invade us, then they wanna shag us?" Hobbes asked. Vala started laughing out loud, and by the time she calmed down Erica had sliced her hand open.

"Do it."

May was bored, so she reached out telepathically, specifically the Sirian wavelength, to try and learn what was going on. Her brother and Lisa . . . should probably be left alone.

Lisa walked into her mother's Executive Suite, having left Tyler passed out on her bed. "You wanted to see me mother?"

Anna turned, "Your work with Tyler was very, convincing. It is key now more than ever that you maintain your control over him."

"I understand."

"Tyler, and May, are essential to our future. Have you made any progress with her?"

"May lives up to her ancestral stubbornness. We are on friendly terms, but I feel like we don't offer her anything of interest."

Anna didn't want to suggest it, but she had no other choice, "Teach her our language."

"Spoken or written?"

"Both. So long as she doesn't speak it in public it should be alright."

"Yes Mother."

"No one must interfere, neither human nor Visitor."

"Visitor?"

"There are traitors among us, but soon they won't be a problem. Our medical technicians have revived Joshua. The traitor will finally be able to talk."

Vala just stood back as Father Jack came in with Chad Decker's laptop. Unnoticed by everyone else, she texted May: _The hybrid is alive._

Her answer: _Working on it._

The soldier knew something was wrong. His source of healing was gone and the pain was overpowering. He wasn't sure if the strange voice he heard was in his ears or his mind.

_Praise for the high tide, praise for the seaside, praise for the sun at high noon._

It was soothing.

_Praise for the lightning, praise for the singing, praise the father sun, and sister moon._

The pain was going away.

_Praise for the red dawn, grass that we walk upon, praise for the river's whispered tune._

He was so tired.

_Praise for the wind brother, praise for the earth mother, praise the father sun and sister moon, praise the father sun and sister moon._

Who was this voice that eased his pain? He let the feeling of gratitude flood him in case the voice could sense him.

_Peace brother warrior. May you rise stronger in the next life._

Such an old farewell, but he did have the strength to answer properly.

_Peace sister warrior. May I see you there with me._

The last thing he saw before closing his eyes for good was the night sky bursting into colors.

From there May moved to the hybrid. Poor thing was half asleep, looking around for whatever was talking to her. May let the hatchling hear the song before going to bed.

The next morning Erica flipped through her medical records, specifically those dealing with her pregnancy. Unfortunately she didn't have access to May's files; the Air Force base in Cheyenne Mountain had them locked up tight.

Over a period of four days, May had been under the weather, and while Erica was glad she'd been inside while the sky rained red, the physical changes were too obvious to ignore. She was thinner, taller, lithe, and spry, her eyes were cat-shaped and turquoise, and sometimes out of the corner of her eye, Erica could have sworn May's ears were pointed and her skin luminescent. She had two options: ask Daniel about Cassidy, or get a blood sample from May without being overly obvious. It looked like she'd need both. She pushed these thoughts aside as she opened the door.

"Hey Lisa."

Lisa glanced around quickly, looking upstairs a couple seconds before turning to Erica, "Joshua's alive. They managed to heal him before he died."

Erica was stunned. She grabbed Lisa's arm and steered her towards the kitchen.

"Anna has him? Has she gotten any names out of him?"

"Not yet. He claims he doesn't remember anything,"

_This is bad._

"About killing the soldier eggs, he doesn't remember being Fifth Column. I can't tell if it's an act to protect us or-"

"You have to find out what he remembers, our names, our-our faces and . . . I need you to find out from him if he remembers any experimentation done on pregnant women as long as eighteen, twenty years ago."

Lisa quickly did the math, glancing down at the medical documents and a picture of Erica kissing baby Tyler.

"You were pregnant then."

"Yeah." Erica nodded.

"What does that mean about you? Tyler?"

Erica just shook her head as an audible slam came from upstairs.

May was trying to expel the excess phosphorus from her body. Turns out it didn't cooperate with blue energy and the resulting backlash sent her nose first into a wall. Her immune system spiked as she healed herself, but not before grabbing a tissue to clean her face. Tyler burst in, asking frantically if she was alright. She allowed him to lead her downstairs while she blinked the double vision away.

"Are you okay baby?" Erica asked, glancing at the bloodstained tissue.

"I think so. Aunt Janet would know better, she lives with Daniel, Uncle Jack and Aunt Sam." May replied with a twitch of her nose. It had completely healed, but nothing would stop Daniel from freaking out.

Lisa's nostrils flared. May's scent was completely different. Aside from a quick nosebleed caused by a nightmare-induced meeting with the wall she looked fine, and that didn't make sense. Her nose should be broken. Tyler's greeting broke through her concentration.

"Hey hon."

"Hey. I missed you, so I came to see you. And you." Lisa directed that last part at May, now rubbing her eyes.

Erica laid the tissue on the kitchen island and turned to her son. "Hey! Nice look Ty."

"Yeah, cut myself shaving." He replied as his mom took the piece of tissue away.

"Well you gotta stop using that bowie knife."

Tyler grinned and turned to Lisa, who had crossed the room and gingerly touched May's nose. She winced and Lisa yanked her hand back.

"You wanna go?"

"Sure." she replied, giving May a quick hug and returning to his side.

"Bye, have fun." Erica called after him, sending May upstairs to get dressed while she placed both samples in separate baggies.

After a quick drove across town, May was left in Janet Fraiser's capable hands while Erica cornered Daniel. He poured her a cup of coffee and the two began to talk.

"Is May alright?" Daniel asked, glancing nervously towards the couch where Janet was trying to shine a light into May's now reflective eyes without blinding herself. She figured it was an Ilvar defense mechanism, just one more thing that made this girl's physicals hell.

"She had a bad dream and knocked her head against the wall." Erica replied before asking a question of her own, "You were close to Richard and Cassidy right?"

Daniel looked insulted, "Of course we were close!"

"When Cassidy was pregnant, did she have pre-eclampsia?"

Daniel thought back. From what little he could remember about Cassidy's pregnancy she was remarkably healthy, aside from occasional bouts of morning sickness. "No. Why?"

Erica hadn't thought that far ahead in the conversation. "She was sick during the red sky and now . . ." she trailed off with a look at her daughter, giggling at a blinded Janet.

"You alright?" Daniel called.

"Wrong angle." Janet replied, flicking off the light and checking for breaks in May's nose.

"She looks different." Erica continued, "More athletic."

Daniel looked again and blinked. She could pass for Cassidy's twin, but had Orlithe's eyes. Turning back to Erica he asked carefully, "And you think the red sky had something to do with it?"

She shook her head, "Not sure. I'm a little concerned."

Daniel was close to panicking. If it got out that May was a hybrid, there was a long line of people who would want a piece of him, Adria and Orlithe being first in line.

"I don't think you should worry about it, I mean, unless it's hurting her." Daniel quailed under the look of disbelief Erica gave him. _Note to self: don't get on the bad side of the FBI Agent who doubles as a member of the Fifth Column._

Erica considered it. While Daniel didn't seem too worried, she got the sense he was hiding something. And May looked fine, waiting for Janet to move the wrong way so she could kick her over the coffee table.

"Honey I have to go. I think you're in good hands."

"Love you Mom." May said, giving Erica a hug.

"Love you too sweetie."

Adria bounded through the front door at that point and joined May on the loveseat, nuzzling her as soon as Erica's back was turned. She also missed the purr May responded with. As she walked out the door, passing Vala and her husband Cameron on the way she heard Daniel shout, "That door stays open Adria!"

Erica burst into Sidney's lab without knocking, "I need you to analyze these blood samples."

"Hello! Don't you people ever just say hello?"

"I'm sorry Sid. I am very glad you're on board, you are an excellent resource."

Sidney muttered something Erica didn't catch as she turned to look at Alpha. The empty-eyed skull seemed to mock her. "I need to find out what they did to me . . . my son. You said that if you had blood samples you could figure out if they messed with Tyler in utero. You have mine, please take his."

"Whose is that?" Sid asked, ignoring the baggie Erica held out and pointing to the one at her side.

Erica glanced at it and hoped she was doing the right thing. "This is from my adopted daughter. Her physical appearance changed over the course of Red Sky. I wanna know what caused it."

Sidney glanced at the two baggies, "Are you sure you wanna go down this path?"

Erica leaned down and looked him in the eye, "If it were your kids, what would you do?"

Sidney sighed and took both samples.

"Thank you." Erica said as she turned and walked out.

Once everyone had been assured May was fine, (Adria nearly setting Daniel on fire) she explained the whole genetic conversion process. After that a good few hours were spent across the street in Adria's room, where the half Ori personally made sure May was alright, frequently commenting on her beauty.

A few hours later the vision struck; her mother had crashed her car and knocked herself unconscious. That coupled with the fact her partner was a sleeper V sent Vala tearing out the door to the location Adria pulled from May's head. After glancing around the room, Janet and Teal'c tore after her with weapons in hand.

**Sorry it took so long people. Finals were _evil_ and I didn't get V until Christmas. Actually, I got my hands on it two days after Thanksgiving, but Dad said it was going to be a Christmas present so I had to wait.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Major Simi: Glad to hear from you.**

**Jknaylor: Welcome!**

**If anyone is curious, I posted the link to May's song on my profile. You might have to turn up the volume at the beginning though.**

Vala never really understood the whole Tau'ri saying about fear being faster than anger until now, following the road until she saw the upside down car. She jumped the guard rail and hid in the grass with Teal'c and Janet close behind, observing a now-conscious Malik letting Erica have it.

"What the hell?" Janet muttered under her breath.

"What now ValaMalDoran?" Teal'c asked quietly, eyeing the one-sided fight with disgust.

"Distract Malik."

"And we do that, how?" Janet asked, wondering if Vala was alright in the head. "I've seen them hunt Vala. When I was on P3X-666 I almost got shot. Delta made this ungodly noise, went after the Jaffa responsible and she didn't stop 'til she'd ripped his head off with her bare hands!"

"Exactly." Vala replied with a nod.

"I don't follow."

"The Sirians' hatred of symbiotes is a deeply ingrained one JanetFraiser." Teal'c explained while Vala searched for a suitable rock, "The scent of Naquadah sends them into a rage. It should be enough to distract this Malik long enough for one of us to get to AgentEvans."

Erica was on the ground watching in horror as Malik's teeth got longer, when a good-sized rock slammed into the back of her head. Malik spun in its direction with a roar of pain.

"Well, we got her attention. Now what?" Janet asked, wishing she had a better weapon.

Teal'c found a rock he needed both hands to lift.

"We don't wanna kill her." Vala explained, "She might have answers. I'll get her attention, Muscles, you sneak up behind her and bring that rock down on her head. Janet, do you have a piece of paper?"

Janet dug through pockets and pulled one out just as Jack showed up.

"May had an idea." He explained as Vala threw another rock, this one catching Malik in the gut. "I called Lars and got a few things worked out. Dr. Fraiser, you'll need proof of rank."

"I'll have to go home and grab it." Janet muttered angrily, "Will you two be alright?"

Teal'c held the rock and Vala blew a raspberry. Malik's pained wheeze turned into a pissed off growl.

"We will be fine JanetFraiser." The Jaffa intoned.

A shift in the wind's direction was all the opening Vala needed, Malik snarled "Threvast!" and barreled in their general direction while Jack and Janet headed back to the road, narrowly missing Hobbes and Jack Landry speeding towards the scene of the accident.

Erica rolled behind her car as soon as she saw headlights, listening to rustling in the grass. There was a snarl, a loud taunting voice that sounded like Vala, a thunking sound and a yelp.

"Nice work Muscles." Vala complimented, glancing at the unconscious Visitor. Teal'c inclined his head.

"Jack?" Erica called out.

"Erica!" Jack shouted, he and Hobbes running to the overturned car. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. How did you find me?"

"I knew you were tracking our leads on the suicide bomber, you can see the wreckage from the road." Hobbes checked her eyes, internally glad when she focused on him. "What happened?"

"Malik's a Visitor."

Hobbes and Jack looked wide-eyed and the former said, "I'll be damned."

"Where is she?" Jack asked.

Erica drew a hand across her mouth, "Somebody threw a couple rocks at her and she went after them. Sounded like Vala, there was a thumping sound and a yelp."

Hobbes pulled his gun and edged in the direction Erica pointed. A familiar voice had him putting the gun away, "Don't shoot, we surrender!"

Vala shrugged out of the grass and toward Hobbes.

"It was you!" Erica breathed, "How . . . how did you-?"

"Your daughter's instinctual knowledge that something was very wrong." Vala replied, lowering her hands. Technically it wasn't lying, _they_ didn't know what caused visions.

"Where's Malik?"

"A good friend of mine knocked her out." Vala sounded proud, beckoning to someone behind her. "Don't shoot him either."

Erica wondered if she'd been hit harder than she thought when a giant of a man emerged with an unconscious Malik slung over his right shoulder. Hobbes almost reached for his gun, but this guy literally looked down on him and was rather intimidating. That strange gold tattoo on his forehead didn't help his case.

"Everyone, this is Teal'c, my brother-in-law, Muscles this is Special Agent Erica Evans, May's mother, Father Jack Landry of Saint Joshephine's Church, and Kyle Hobbes, a mercenary."

Teal'c inclined his head politely to each of them.

Jack helped Erica up and she barked orders. Namely that Hobbes should take Malik back to his place and would Vala and Teal'c please go with him. She told Jack she had to call this in.

Vala and Hobbes looked at each other and in a rare moment of complete understanding, pulled their respective weapons and shot all four tires. Teal'c led the way to the truck, Vala helped Jack carry Erica, and Hobbes . . . blew up the car.

* * *

><p>On the mothership, Lisa felt her skin tingling and watched in horror as her arm turned green.<p>

"Don't be alarmed Lisa." When did her mother get here?

"Mother, what's happening to me?" Lisa quickly sat up and glanced at her arm.

"Your body is preparing for your birthright, to be queen."

"My skin, it's moving!"

"It's your breeding skin. It's begun to grow."

As the green faded, Anna sat next to and explained, "Over the next few months as it forms, you'll become fertile. You'll undergo many changes, changes that will permit our race to endure."

"What kind of changes?"

"The emergence of your true nature, your primal instinct. It happened to me, and my mother helped me through it. Before she died, I promised her that I would mold you into a great leader."

Lisa turned away, "How will I know if I'm ready?"

"I'll teach you to lead in my own image." Anna turned Lisa's face back to hers, "You'll become just like me."

Lisa stared for a minute before letting her emotionless mask slip back into place.

* * *

><p>Janet Fraiser lived up to her nickname as a Napoleonic power monger, directing the two paramedics from the ambulance like the conductor in an orchestra. She'd shoved proof of rank in Kendrick's face along with a small piece of paper with the number 47 scrawled on it in Jack's handwriting. She all but ordered Erica to go home and rest, giving her a conspiratorial wink when Kendrick's back was turned. Erica nodded back discreetly.<p>

* * *

><p>A few hours after getting home, cleaned up and resting awhile, Sidney dropped by with his laptop.<p>

"Normal DNA looks like this," he began, showing the image.

"Okay."

"And Tyler's DNA looks like this," the image popped up. "Half the ladder's been stripped."

"How can he survive like this?" Erica demanded.

"He's made it this far without symptoms or side effects. I think it has something to do with this." Sid highlighted a section of the remaining DNA. "I've never seen this before, but whatever it is he got it from you."

He brought up Erica's DNA and highlighted the same section. The two were nearly identical. Sid explained that pieces were missing so something could fill them in later.

"What about May's" Erica asked, wondering if she could handle any more surprises.

Sid swallowed once and prepared to bring up the file, I've never seen anything like this before either."

Erica blinked, confused. It _looked_ human enough. Wait, was it _glowing_?

"Sidney, what is this?"

"Right, well . . ." Sidney trailed off, scratching the back of his neck. He then pulled the other two samples up for comparison. Highlighting a small section of May's DNA, he proceeded to explain, "These genes are from her father. Based on further analysis he was human. Everything else she inherited from her mother, and based on further analysis of _that_-"

Erica snapped, "Get to the point Sid."

"She's evolving."

Erica spewed coffee across the table.

* * *

><p>Hobbes' basement was more crowded than normal. Malik was suspended by the meat hook (Vala commented dryly she was improvement over the last one) and her ankles were chained together. Every time Teal'c or Vala moved, she snarled at them. Teal'c ignored it, examining the stockpile of weapons in Hobbes' possession. The mercenary hovered nervously nearby, trying to ignore the increasingly vocal V until he couldn't take anymore.<p>

"ValaMalDoran is making faces at the prisoner KyleHobbes." Teal'c explained without turning around.

"Bloody hell." Hobbes muttered under his breath.

"They messed with my son. They corrupted Tyler's DNA." Erica snapped, crossing the room in a huff while Malik rattled her chains.

Jack asked how she knew, not sure if he wanted the answer.

"Sid confirmed it. They must have done it when I was pregnant."

Hobbes butted in, seriously wishing Teal'c would _leave his stuff alone_, "Wouldn't Tyler have shown some signs, symptoms? Shouldn't stuff like this be impossible?"

"Of course it's impossible! Just like giant spaceships." Sid interjected, voice dripping sarcasm. Teal'c and Vala exchanged a conspiratorial glance that only Malik caught.

"Why would they do this?"

"Because they want to shag us?" Vala suggested. Malik swore. Nobody paid attention.

"That's what we need to find out."

"I could take samples from Ryan but without DNA comparison from a female V's reproductive system we'll still only have half a picture of what they're planning for Tyler." Sid was apparently getting ready to take a sample when Vala pulled him back.

Malik growled, "Damn threvast," loud enough to be heard around the basement just as Ryan walked in.

"I was going to say I wouldn't do that, but Vala's got it under control. By the way, she has fangs and a tail too. Females can just rip it out whenever they want to." Ryan explained, fastening some kind of belt around Malik's waist. He glanced in Teal'c's direction and blinked, "Who're you?"

"I am Teal'cMurray, ValaMalDoran's brother-in-law."

Ryan gave Vala a weird look before shaking his head, "Do I wanna know?"

"Probably not." Erica replied before changing the subject, "We were following a lead on Eli Cohn when Malik decided to show me her true self. If radical Fifth Column were there, they are long gone by now."

"You're a traitor." Malik said, "Anna will make you pay for turning against us."

Vala repeated in a song-song voice, "Anna will make you pay for turning against us."

Malik hissed through clenched teeth. Vala's response was to stick her tongue out.

* * *

><p>May blinked and pulled away from Vala's mind, seeking another she was familiar with. Finding Tyler's aboard the mothership she tuned in to that conversation, "My mom was attacked by Fifth Column, I keep trying to help her but she won't let me!"<p>

"She's an FBI Agent Tyler. I'm sure she can protect herself." Lisa said soothingly. It didn't help.

"I keep trying to warn her about this priest Jack Landry but, she won't listen to me."

"Well I'm listening," Anna butted in without missing a beat, "Tell me. Why do you think this priest is a threat?"

"Because he might be connected to the Fifth Column. His anti-V sermons are all over the net, the suicide bomber who blew up the Healing Center went to his parish."

"I think you need to approach this differently Tyler. You need to help your mother if she won't help herself."

Lisa quickly changed the subject, "How is your sister taking it?"

This seemed to make it worse, "She spent last night at her cousin's house so she didn't know until this morning. Was-was Red Sky supposed to do something to humans?"

Anna's expression of concern became forced, "What do you mean?"

"It's just, she looks different now. We went to the mall a couple days ago because she needed a couple new pairs of jeans. People were staring. And drooling." Tyler clenched his fists at the thought of those wolves ogling his innocent sister. May snorted, _Oh Tyler, if only you knew._

"Has she been ill?" Anna's concern was being replaced by curiosity. Perhaps May was having an adverse reaction to the phosphorus.

"Just during Red Sky. She was really weak, tired all the time, she would scream at night, like she was being tortured, and I couldn't do anything to help."

"Is she alright now?" Lisa asked.

"I think so."

Anna saw the chance she'd been waiting for, "See if you can talk her into a trip to the Healing Center. Tell her you're worried and it would give you peace of mind."

Lisa slowly shook her head. The only time May had been to the Healing Center was for her, and though the memory was fuzzy she could recall the song, Bliss-like but much more soothing.

* * *

><p>Erica and Ryan had left to interview the mother of a missing person while Malik continued to hang there. Vala did not like the smug look on her face, coming within reach of Malik's now useless tail and saying, "You're a spineless worm and a sniveling coward." The tamest (and only) Sirian insults she knew. Malik's reaction did not disappoint. When Erica and Ryan returned Vala was across the room watching the deranged Visitor hissing, spitting and screaming unintelligible insults.<p>

* * *

><p>A sense of despair disturbed May's meditation. Downstairs, Lisa was sitting on the couch in tears. Erica was on the phone, appearing so engrossed in the conversation the distraught V was forgotten. May sat next to her friend and listened as Lisa told her everything. How Tyler thought he was helping his mother by bringing down an anti-V priest, how her mother was targeting the human soul, and how her breeding skin was affecting her behavior. She had slammed Tyler into a table, kissing and choking him at the same time. And then she cried, curling into a ball and rocking back and forth on the couch.<p>

May took her hand and led her upstairs, tossing her a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"Take a hot bath and calm down okay?" and then she gave Lisa a hug. Five minutes later, May stood guard outside the room listening to the playful splashing. Inside the bathroom, Lisa grabbed a bottle of lavender lilac shampoo and conditioner for her hair and lavender vanilla body wash. After a long soak in hot water, drying off with a big fluffy towel, and rubbing lavender vanilla lotion into her human skin, Lisa dressed in the outfit May provided and opened the bathroom door, engulfing her in a cloud of steam.

"Feeling better?" May asked, taking Lisa's hand again and leading the V to her room.

"Yes. Thank you." Lisa appeared on the verge of tears again. May pulled her hand out of Lisa's tight grip and continued, "Feel free to look around while I get ready for bed."

May's room was clean and well organized. Her bookshelf was arranged by series title and the top shelf hosted a short fat white pillar candle, flanked on both sides by dragon figures. A desk beneath the window was home to a laptop, a lamp, and a strange blue crystal. Traces of red darted through it, like water snakes. It was soothing in a strange way, disturbingly hypnotic . . .

That was how May found her twenty minutes later, fixated on the crystal. The Ilva glanced towards it with a grin. Blue Energy and Red Sky, the latter what her body expelled before she threw up the rest. Poor Lisa didn't react to May's hand waving in front of her face or the snapping by her ear. Swearing, May hid the crystal in her closet and absently started playing with Lisa's hair. She was rewarded with a soft purring sound and a nudge to her hand.

"You okay?" May asked, slightly unnerved by Lisa's voice trailing off into a hiss, "Yes_ss_."

_Awkward . . ._ "You can sleep in here tonight and, I'll go downstairs."

Lisa whined, seizing May's wrist in an iron grip and staring with huge terrified eyes. May shook her head slowly and rolled her eyes, "Alright alright," and unrolled a sleeping bag from the closet.

Sometime during the night, Lisa woke up, disoriented by unfamiliar surroundings. A hiss of irritation stopped abruptly at the sound of rustling. Peering over the edge of the bed revealed a human sleeping in what looked like a fabric cocoon. The girl's scent was very sweet, like passion fruit, and her breeding skin started moving again. She slid off the bed to investigate, prodding at the sleeping bag and absently playing with a few stands of red hair. May shifted before snuggling into the pillow.

Lisa cocked her head, analyzing the sleeping female and comparing her to the male not far from her current location. Tyler was like a cross between a Worker and a Soldier: he was only intelligent enough to follow orders without question. May had the build of a Tracker: lithe, spry, agile. Whereas Tyler frequently pigged out on what humans called "junk food", May avoided the stuff, and despite Tyler's decreasing advantage in height, in a fight May would _destroy_ him. Lisa didn't lie to herself, she wanted intelligent children, but it was impossible to breed with another female and her mother wouldn't touch that issue.

"Lisa? What are you doing awake?" May mumbled sleepily, rolling over to face her. The V blinked, eyes shifting to blue again.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing I'm fine." The look May was giving her prompted an explanation, "I woke up and couldn't remember where I was for a second." They sat on the floor for a few minutes before May whispered, "It's too early to get up. Go back to sleep okay?"

Lisa nodded, kissing May on the cheek and burrowing back under the covers. May blinked, confused for a second before the ring flared again, acknowledging Lisa's affection.

_At least Adria's asleep_, She thought, closing her eyes. _Otherwise I'd have to keep them from killing each other._

In the morning, Lisa reluctantly opened her eyes and stumbled into the kitchen. May slid a plate of eggs and bacon in front of her, ignoring the sound of food being messily devoured. It brought back memories:

_Delta hunting, ripping the head off an elk-like creature so she could spray blood everywhere, shrieking to the sky, the feral joy that came from providing for herself and herself alone._

The carnage was disgusting, but May understood, just like she understood the motives of the Ori, thanks in part to her Adria. But she would only tell Daniel if the circumstances were in her favor, preferably with an armada between them.

The sound of Lisa licking the plate clean clears her mind, and she almost laughs at the mournful expression on the V's face.

"Still hungry?"

Lisa glances from the empty plate to the fridge to May and back to the plate, nodding eagerly. After a second helping she's kicking herself. She came to be comforted by the Evans, not clean out their fridge.

She asked about the various contacts on May's cell phone, matching names with faces and professions. The first name on the list was Adria, an attractive female not much older than May. The girl explained they were cousins by marriage, but the V detected the faintest scent of hormones. Lisa committed the number to memory, sensing there was more to the relationship than May was letting on.

* * *

><p>The minute Erica stepped into her office the reason for Vala's ear-to-ear grin that morning (after vocally abusing Eli Cohn) became apparent. One Jack O'Neill was leaning against a wall, a short paperback in hand, and Kendrick looked like he'd swallowed a lemon.<p>

"O'Neill?"

"Erica?" Jack countered, closing the book with a snap. May's latest vision wasn't a pleasant one, and if they were going to protect her family he needed to be personally involved. If Kendrick didn't get it by now . . .

* * *

><p>"Tyler you've gotta stop looking at this. You're just driving yourself crazy." Lisa was trying, but Tyler was only human. May had left earlier, bound for a relative's house (likely Adria's).<p>

"It's priests like him that are inciting Fifth Column. My friends are dead because of it!"

Lisa closed the laptop, "Hey, let's get away from all this for a while, okay? Let's go do something."

She regretted those words as soon as they were out of her mouth. Tyler's expression hardened and he said, "You're right. I shouldn't just sit here, I should do something."

"Tyler where are you going?"

"Payback, for my friends that were killed this morning, starting with Father Jack Landry."

Lisa grabbed his arm, "Tyler you don't even know that he's responsible."

"He's preaching anti-V hate that's good enough." He snapped rushing out the door. Lisa went after him, getting more worried when he met up with some of his friends.

"Tyler this isn't right! We shouldn't be here!"

"No Lisa it's time we sent them a message of our own!"

"You're scaring me!"

"Why? For standing up for you? For the Visitors? Right?" with that he and his friends started breaking everything in sight.

"Tyler stop!"

He didn't seem to hear her.

Lisa ran from the building, somewhat glad when nobody followed, and pulled out her cell phone. Mrs. Evans was probably at work and she didn't have May's number, but there was somebody she could call, at least to get her out of here.

* * *

><p>Adria blinked down at her phone. Only two other people had her number, her mother and May, and the latter preferred using telepathy. She didn't recognize the caller either, so she answered it, "Hello?"<p>

"Adria?" a frightened voice answered her, "I'm Lisa, Tyler's girlfriend. He's . . ." she broke off, crying by the sound of it, "Can you come get me?"

"Where are you?" she demanded, car keys flying into her outstretched hand. If she focused she could hear the crashing coming from inside. _That little bastard. May's gonna kill him._

"Near Saint Josephine's."

"You need to find a place that's crowded." Adria glanced at the clock, "It's close to the lunch rush, maybe a fast food place. Let me know when you find one and _stay there_ until I come get you. Understand?"

"Yes." She answered, gripping the phone like a lifeline.

"Good."

"Please hurry."

* * *

><p><em>A pizza shop they'd been to before. Well, at least she has<em> some _taste._ Adria complained as she walked inside. It was crowded enough that Lisa's exit went unnoticed.

Once Adria pulled into the driveway, Lisa raced into the house and started crying on May's shoulder again. May squeezed her and looked at Adria, "What happened?"

Lisa could only explain that Tyler had been reading about Anna's visit to Rome and rewatching the interview of Jack Landry (which he helped Anna screw over) before shaking her head and sobbing.

Adria continued, "Tyler and a pair of idiots vandalized Saint Josephines-" May looked ready to kill "- Lisa tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen. She was upset and scared when she called me."

The sobbing got louder. May stroked her hair, considering the options available. Her mother would find Tyler's phone but wouldn't say or do anything. And why should she when he'd likely ask questions she wouldn't answer?

Adria watched from the doorway as Lisa curled under a blanket on the couch with her head on May's lap. She was stroking her hair and singing very softly,

"Praise for the high tide, praise for the seaside, praise for the sun at high noon.

Praise for the lightning, praise for the singing, praise the father sun, and sister moon.

Praise for the red dawn, grass that we walk upon, praise for the river's whispered tune.

Praise for the wind brother, praise for the earth mother, praise the father sun and sister moon, praise the father sun and sister moon."

Lisa had fallen asleep as soon as the song finished. May carefully stood up, leapt over the coffee table and went upstairs. Adria read the laptop screen over May's shoulder and couldn't help the sadistic grin. Tyler was _royally_ screwed.

* * *

><p>"You gonna be okay with this assignment Bolling? I know you two are friends." Kendrick asked<p>

"That's why you asked for me isn't it?"

A third voice startled both of them, "My god you two are stupid!"

Kendrick sounded really annoyed, "What do you want Jack?"

The color drained out of both men's faces when another person appeared behind Jack and one Colonel Lars Tremont stepped into the room.

"I am disappointed gentlemen. Twice now you have come across the number 47, once in the presence of the agent to whom it applies, and still you didn't understand."

Jack slammed an official document onto the desk and watched both men jump for the second time.

"Agents Kendrick and Bolling," Jack began in an official yet still pissed-off voice, "This document has been signed by the president himself. As of this moment, Special Agent Erica Evans, her ex husband and her son are hereby granted the protection of Stargate Command."

**The ending was a spur-of-the-moment thing that I'm rather proud of. Next time: Tyler gets what's coming to him.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Major Simi: Thanks.**

**Animal Kingdom and Sangheili Knight: Greetings!**

**Special thanks to kyaru-chan for letting me (and May) borrow the personality of Harveste Addams. Inspiration taken primarily from the Yule Ball scene (bloody hysterical) the surprise appearance of Fenrir, and the results thereof.**

Tyler was sprawled across his bed, waiting for midnight and contemplating what he was sure would go down as the hardest two weeks of his life. May knew about his trip to Saint Josephine's, and he'd never seen her so angry. Scratch that. He'd never seen _anyone_ that angry. She'd called him a bastard and slugged his jaw with her right hand (the one with the ring) before almost literally dragging him to the V Healing Center. May's illness during Red Sky had slipped his mind, and in the interest of staying alive he decided not to bring it up at all. He spent the next two weeks working for May's uncles, Jack and his son-in-law Cameron. The majority of the work was done outdoors, weeding and watering flowerbeds (digging one for a gleefully sadistic Uncle Jack), mowing lawns, trimming hedges, washing and waxing cars. He'd had no time for PA duties and hadn't spoken to Lisa since his misadventure. The clock struck midnight, and Tyler muttered a quiet "happy birthday" to himself before nodding off.

May was also thinking about the last two weeks, and how crazy things were getting. On what she'd dubbed "the war front," the 3 Dragon Ships had been destroyed, courtesy of the armada. The Sirian High Council was informed immediately and was so pissed off they'd declared war. By sunset five new Dragon Ships arrived, exacting revenge for their fallen and raining havoc upon their enemies. When all was said and done, two hundred twenty ships remained, and the newly christened _Nyx_, _Erebus_, _Anarchy_, _Calypso_, and _Firestorm_ remained nearby, awaiting orders.

* * *

><p>Joe was stunned at the knowledge the Vs had been screwing with his son since before he was born. When Erica revealed what she knew about May, his temper almost hit the roof.<p>

She brought up the screen with their daughter's DNA and explained, "I did some research before we contacted Daniel. The small branch of Clan Lamont that Cassidy supposedly belonged to died out almost twenty years ago."

"Convenient."

"There's no record of her anywhere. It's like she dropped out of the sky."

Joe glanced at the laptop screen, not noticing any major differences. He glanced at Erica and raised an eyebrow. Sighing, she brought up her own DNA for comparison.

"Whatever Cassidy was, she was close enough to human to have a child with one."

"Think Daniel knows?"

"I think he knows _something_, just not sure what. If anything he looked shocked that I knew."

Joe snorted before reluctantly asking, "What about May, does she know?"

Erica pulled out her cell phone and showed him a picture she took recently, "She didn't look like this until after Red Sky, but Red Sky isn't responsible. She doesn't seem to mind."

"And Tyler?"

"Is ready to kill anyone who looks at her the wrong way."

Joe laughed, _Of course he would._

* * *

><p>The thought of Tyler on a two-month cross-country trip on a restored bike pissed her off. SG-1 tried, they really did, but most of her birthdays sucked. Of the two that did not suck, one involved a week on a Sirian planet, the other involved a month on an Ori ship. The former involved sleeping under a tree with the other hatchlings and the latter was spent under the watchful eye of Adria.<p>

"You okay there honey?" Erica asked.

"Hmm? What?" May blinked the memories away.

"You spaced out for a second there."

"'M fine."

Tyler glanced from the map to his sister, "Wanna come? We have like ten birthdays to make up."

Yes she wanted to go. Just not anywhere with Tyler. In fact her destination was several hundred miles in the other direction and in a different country.

"Nope."

Tyler actually looked disappointed. Observing from the mothership via jacket-cam, Anna blinked in shock.

Dad pulled a set of keys from his pocket and asked Mom, "Remember our first date?"

Erica's eyes glazed over, "Yeah." Then her mind returned to the real world, "Oh god. Please tell me you don't still have that car!"

Joe's leer as he held up the keys was answer enough. Erica shot him a dirty look and the argument ensued.

"What are they talking about?" Tyler asked in an undertone, "What's the problem with Dad's car?"

"It was the seventies Ty." Was the only explanation May offered, but still enough for the boy to shove his now red face into the map while Erica vehemently hissed, "You are _not_ giving her that car!"

"Fully restored, cleaned up, new paint job. If you want it it's yours." Dad offered.

May hugged him and simultaneously swiped the keys.

* * *

><p>"Erica tells me you've taken an interest in our son." Joe said while Erica noticed her daughter's stance and grabbed her wrist. According to Joe, May had accompanied him here and had yet to speak a word. She glared daggers at the High Commander, muttering darkly under her breath.<p>

"Tyler's special. Which is why I wanted to present this very important birthday gift to him." She introduced Thomas, who asked if Tyler wanted to be the first human to pilot a V shuttle.

"Happy Birthday Tyler."

Something in her snapped at those words. In high orbit the Dragon Ships had just enough time to _get out of the way_ before a V ship exploded, a raging teal fireball in its place.

"_Damn . ._ _._" Erebus hissed. The fact the ship was still burning a week later did not improve the mood of the crew.

May blinked a couple times to clear the haze, preparing to rip the V queen a new one when something clicked into place. Anna acted like a naughty child. And naughty children needed to be punished. Somewhere in the Ascended Plains, sadistic cackling rang out.

* * *

><p>Lisa didn't want to be here, unfortunately she had no choice. Thanks to her breeding skin, her senses were on overdrive. The lights and noise were getting to her and she longed to find a dark quiet place to hide in until this stupid gala was over. Even worse was the scent, not that humans smelled all that great to begin with. But the combination of warm night air and humans in formal attire was a highly unpleasant one for the V. She could smell their sweaty skin, males' cologne, females' perfume, and the faintest hint of . . . passion fruit?<p>

_May . . . _She altered her breathing to better track the scent, scanning the crowd of overly eager humans.

"Hello darling."

She almost jumped out of her skins. Spinning to face the girl, the planned scolding died in her throat, along with half her thoughts.

May's attire consisted of a sleeveless sky blue cocktail dress, no frills or anything overly feminine. Her wavy red hair was tied at the base of her neck with a thin silk ribbon, a softer blue than the dress. Around her neck was a silver chain set with a small aquamarine, her ever-present ring adorning her ring finger. A pair of tasteful off-white flats completed the ensemble.

"What do you think?"

Lisa made a strangled noise in her throat as those mischievous turquoise eyes drew level with her own. It was probably a good thing May rarely dressed like a woman; human and V alike were staring. Erica's new partner sported a bright red handprint across his face, courtesy of the protective mother herself, while the reporter Chad Decker appeared to be shaking. He glanced repeatedly at his champagne glass and wished for something stronger. Kerry watched him with concern, eventually confiscating the glass.

"Darling?" May's fingers brushed Lisa's arm, earning a shiver and a soft purring sound.

_She's the perfect mate. _Lisa thought, cocking her head in a reptilian manner. Her breeding skin had moved, rising to meet May's fingers. Eventually it dawned on her she'd never answered the question. Taking a step back, her eyes wandered over May's form, noticing how the dress complemented her shape, how her choice of color made her eyes look more blue than green.

"Beautiful." She murmured softly, still purring. Lacing their fingers together, she continued, "Perhaps I should take you home with me."

May smiled indulgently, both at Lisa's antics and the sound of Adria breaking something across town in a fit of possessive rage.

"Are you flirting with me?"

Lisa blinked a couple times, trying to ignore the irritated hissing and thoughts of claiming May as hers. Violently. Against the nearest wall. _Damn it!_

Instead of replying, she lowered her head and peered coyly through her lashes.

Squeezing Lisa's hand, May leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "_Behave yourself._"

The sound of May speaking Old Sirian came as a shock. Lisa blinked, mentally forcing her instinct to heel. Still had the urge to growl at her mother though.

"Evening High Commander." May greeted, her free hand tightening on something narrow and silver. Lisa's eyes widened a bit, _How did she sneak _them_ in here?_

Anna looked surprised, but only for a second, "Good evening May-"

"Miss Lamont." May corrected, smirking slightly. Faintly, she heard the ringing laughter of Orlithe.

"Pardon?" Anna asked, confused.

"First-name basis suggests familiarity. I barely know you High Commander, as such I've never called you by your first name." _To your face._ "I feel you don't know me well enough for such intimacy." _Que Lisa's hiss of protest._

Anna blinked. She was, of course, correct. Pandering to the whims of a not-human, while rather insulting, was probably the only way to convince her to join Live Aboard.

"I apologize if I was too forward Miss Lamont. It will not happen again."

Lisa barely kept the look of shock off her face. Her mother apologized? To a human?

May observed Anna's entourage walk off before returning her attention to Lisa. Again she leaned close, speaking very softly, "I have to go now darling."

Lisa shuddered, mumbling something.

"I know you wanted to take me with you. Perhaps another time." May kissed her cheek and walked away.

_Nyx!_

_Aye?_

_On my signal._

_As you wish._

May grinned, loving the chaos at her fingertips. Two seconds later and she stopped dead, senses on high alert. Scanning balconies, she spotted two men that sure as hell hadn't been invited. Eli Cohn and Kyle Hobbes.

_Well, well. The game is afoot._

* * *

><p>Hobbes nearly dropped the gun when a flash of silver embedded itself into the concrete.<p>

"The hell?" Cohn muttered.

"_Senbon._" Hobbes said, staring at the still quivering needle, "Judging from the angle, it came from . . ." he trailed off in confusion before muttering, "Dear _god_."

Standing a good distance below him stood Erica's daughter, sporting a cheeky grin and a fistful of _senbon_. A second whistled through the night, missed Cohn's head by inches and embedded itself into the wall behind them.

The two men stared at her, getting the not-so-subtle message when she pointed toward the stage. Hobbes grinned roguishly, "I like her."

* * *

><p>"We need to abort."<p>

"Negative. We have a shot at Marcus. Hobbes stop flirting."

"That is _not_ the plan."

A beat of silence then, "We're never gonna have this opportunity again We've gotta take the shot! I'm serious Hobbes, stop flirting."

May cocked her head. Marcus was still talking.

"Think of what they have planned for your son. For humanity."

"Fine. Do it. Now."

"The first human to pilot a V shuttle . . . Tyler Evans."

May's expression was thunderous and Erica couldn't agree more, "Abort! Abort!"

"Hobbes can make the shot . . . will you knock it off!"

"Not if it means risking my son's life."

"Your son's life is at risk if we don't take the shot. We're taking it! Hobbes this is the last time I'm gonna warn you . . ."

"I'm gonna get him out of there. When you have a clear shot, take it."

May glanced between the balcony, her mother and the stage.

"A clear shot, confirm."

There was a minute of hushed arguing, followed by Cohn smacking Hobbes in the back of the head.

"Confirmed."

"Stay here sweetheart."

May shifted her weight to her left foot, discreetly clutching a third _senbon_. She heard the gun go off, watched Marcus fall backward. He would recover, but it would be slow. A flurry of _senbon_ flew at Anna's V guard and took quite a few of them down. The general panic increased. May's smile would have sent demons running.

The gala was evacuated, Erica making sure both children were with her before heading for the car.

_Begin._

Five voices intoned, _We hear and obey, Sayrin Rasi._

* * *

><p>Anna stood in her executive suite, wondering where everything had gone wrong. Fifth Column had infiltrated the gala. Marcus had been shot and might not survive. Some of her Visitor guards looked like pin cushions. Tyler wouldn't be joining Live Aboard. Lisa smelled like she was in heat. And to top it all off, her breeding fleet was getting blown to bits and they had no idea who was responsible.<p>

* * *

><p>"Happy Birthday Ty." May slid the box across the table to him.<p>

Tyler opened it and his jaw dropped. Nestled in the box was a silver dragon in flight, mouth wide open and talons outstretched as if to grab something. The two yellow crystals that made up the eyes made the piece look alive.

"Wyvern." Was her explanation as Tyler removed the necklace and put it on.

Erica and Joe were bent over the box.

"Imported from Dublin?" Joe was stunned.

"Honey?"

May just grinned at them while Tyler threw his arms around her and swore he'd take her wherever she wanted.

Morning dawned with a sense of wrongness that May was too acquainted with to ignore. Quickly dressing she headed downstairs, jumping the last three.

"The question is can you two keep up with me?"

May cleared her throat.

"Sorry, can you two keep up with us?"

Laughter ensued.

"It's been so long since the four of us spent time together." Dad said.

Then Mom's phone rang, and she knew:

_A hostage situation, an explosion, death. No no no no no no . . . ._

"Momma?"

Erica flinched, remembering the last time May had spoken to her like that had involved a thunderstorm, a horrible nightmare, and a cup of hot chocolate at 3 A.M.

"Momma don't go. It's what they want." May looked ready to cry.

"Don't cry baby." Erica soothed, hugging her little girl, "Momma won't be gone long."

* * *

><p>"Tyler's mother is inside. That wasn't part of your plan."<p>

"No. But maybe we can use it to our advantage."

"Perhaps seeing his mother die at the hands of the humans will turn him back to us."

"His mother dying isn't enough, his father must die as well. Find a way to get Joe Evans inside that building. Tyler is critical to the future of our plans. His emotional ties to his family are all that keep him from us. It is time to sever them, once and for all."

"And May?"

"May's family is too large and too well connected. Questions would be asked if several high-ranking Air Force personnel suddenly disappeared."

Thomas nodded and left the room, passing Lisa on the way.

"You wanted to see me Mother?"

"Tyler has decided to postpone his flight training. With the plans for Concordia moving ahead, it's critical he be aboard the ship as we prepare for the next phase."

"Yes of course Mother."

"You must do everything in your power to ensure his cooperation."

* * *

><p>May hadn't stopped pacing since Mom had left.<p>

"C'mere Luna, watch the game with us." Tyler used her nickname.

"She'll be fine honey." Joe said.

May shook her head and continued to pace like a caged animal. Tyler's phone rang. The news came on. All hell broke loose.

* * *

><p>Tyler waited outside the bathroom until May finished throwing up. She looked terrible when she came out.<p>

"You okay?"

"Grab your jacket."

Tyler went to retrieve it while May dialed the phone.

"Hello?"

"Get down there. Get down there now."

"Get where kiddo?" Sam sounded confused until Adria flicked the TV on. Vala bolted out the front door, Teal'c and Janet in hot pursuit. Jack, Daniel, Cameron and Adria didn't hesitate either.

"We're going." Sam said, hanging up and tearing after the others.

"Now what?" Tyler asked, shrugging into his jacket

May had the keys in hand, "You have shotgun, we're taking Mom's car."

* * *

><p>Had the situation not been so dire, Tyler would have joked about May flying the car instead of driving it. As it was, May was going fast enough to take that last curve on two wheels before fishtailing into a parking spot. They ran from there, but for all their speed they were too late.<p>

* * *

><p>From a short distance away, Paul and Chris watched as one of their own held her two crying children.<p>

"We were wrong about her. She's clean Paul."

"I'll kill the paperwork. The investigation into Erica Evans is over."

A large hand slammed down on the two men's shoulders and yanked them off the ground. Ignoring their yelps, Teal'c angrily intoned, "Good. Now explain to us why we shouldn't kill you."

He turned the two towards Jack, Daniel, Cameron, Janet and Sam, armed and _furious_.

Adria glanced at the rubble, eyes flashing orange for a split second. She placed a hand on Vala's arm, _Ryan did this._

Vala stiffened and demanded, "Where is he?"

_Beneath the rubble. He'll dig himself out in a few hours._

Vala surreptitiously fingered the Zat she kept on her person at all times, _Good._

* * *

><p>Lisa observed curiously as her mother walked away from a glowing circle in the floor. She'd never seen it before. A quick transport later revealed an environment reminiscent of their homeworld.<p>

"Back so soon?" Diana asked, turning to face . . . "Lisa?"

"Who're you?"

"Don't be frightened. I am your grandmother, Diana. I knew you'd find me eventually."

"I don't understand. I was told you were dead."

"No one must know. Not yet. It's our secret."

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"Because we share the same enemy. Your mother."

* * *

><p>Vala, Janet and Teal'c crowded into the basement. Chad eyed them warily; anyone who could pick up two grown men and shake them like ragdolls was somebody to avoid.<p>

"Erica, I'm so sorry."

"Joe is dead. Tyler left, to live aboard the ship and there . . . there is nothing I can do about it."

Vala stepped forward, "How's May?"

"She was still crying when I left."

Vala nodded and stepped back.

"Eli left me in charge of the Fifth Column he built. Every cell, every soldier around the world. My first act as leader will be to declare that we go on the offensive. No more reacting to Anna, we strike first, we strike hard. Who's with me?"

Not surprisingly, Jack spoke first, "I was a soldier once, I'll be a soldier again."

"I'm in. No matter the cost."

Erica glanced toward Vala, Janet and Teal'c. The Jaffa spoke for all of them, deadly serious, "They will rue this day WarriorEvans."

Finally Erica looked to Hobbes, "I should have listened to you about Ryan. I'm sorry."

"Nah it's all me. I should've taken the lizard out when I had the chance."

For a second Erica swore she head Vala mutter, "Chance you won't be getting."

"I got you into this because I needed a warrior, but I've kept you caged. Not anymore."

"You've got me Erica, come what bloody may."

"Good . . . we have an army now. And we're gonna rain hell on the Visitors."

**kyaru-chan: If this isn't to your liking, I throw myself on the mercy of Harveste and the Old Gods.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Ah Major Simi, you never let me down.**

**stark40763, remember suggesting Anna not gain the ability to Bliss humans no matter the cost? She doesn't, but a few of you might hate me when this chapter is over.**

It had been a rough week. The legal stuff had been taken care of; Joe's house had been sold and his possessions divvied up between various family members and friends. SG-1 (and Adria) attended the funeral, the Orici at May's side through it all. Lisa came for Tyler's sake, a black ribbon in her hair, speaking softly to calm him down. At the bereavement meal she left him to see May, offering some platitude humans were known for at such occasions and actually meaning it. May mumbled something in reply without looking up, as such she didn't see the half-Ori and the V heiress stare each other down, neither thinking the other worthy of the redhead. And the food! There was almost literally enough food to feed an army, and since there were plenty of people there, very little went to waste.

In high orbit the war raged on. From the perspective of the V armada, the dragons were bad enough, but now they had a new problem. Concussive blasts of energy vaporized ships from below – as well as above. The fire – the unnatural _unholy_ fire – forced the ships out of formation to prevent the spread of damage, but in comparison with the other two it seemed almost tame. A bolt of turquoise energy from below could destroy twice as many ships as the fire; while that same blast from above incinerated three ships at once. After a week both the Earth-side and sky-side attacks ceased. The Sirians, having backed off to avoid getting killed themselves, reentered the fray with a vengeance.

"Tyler's very excited about the pilot training program. He leaves on his first overnight trip tonight."

"All of your plans are coming together. Tyler hasn't spoken to his mother in over a week."

"We are finally becoming his family. In the meantime, I have an assignment for you. While Tyler's away you'll meet a young man named Rafael. I want you to _entertain_ him."

Lisa didn't like the emphasis she placed on entertain. "What about Tyler?"

Anna looked confused.

"If he senses my disloyalty to him it could upset everything."

"My plans for Tyler are none of your concern. You will entertain Rafael. Don't question me again."

"And May?'

Ah yes, the proverbial thorn in her side, "What about her?"

"Tyler has repeatedly attempted to make contact with her but she won't answer her phone. He misses her. Even separated she still exerts an influence on him."

Anna didn't like the sound of that at all, "What of your influence over her?"

Ignoring the little voice asking when she'd _ever_ had influence over May, Lisa answered, "My influence over her has diminished with her family in town. I was planning to see her soon, perhaps convince her to join Live Aboard."

That was the best news Anna had in a week, "Good."

Wondering how far she could push her luck, Lisa asked, "Shall I _entertain_ her as well?"

_So much for that good mood._ "No."

Watching her mother leave the room in a snit made her decision for her. A visit to her grandmother was long overdue. Said meeting began with a sarcastic greeting, then it went downhill.

Chad entered the lab and held up the file, "Lisa came through."

All eyes turned to him.

"She downloaded the Live Aboards' medical files. Anna isn't choosing these Live Aboards randomly, she's inviting people up to the ship who are exceptional - genetically exceptional."

"High fertility, elevated immunity, longevity, and this part: gene extraction complete." Jack rattled off.

"And those dates must be when the Live Aboards went in the needle machine." Hobbes added.

"She's stealing DNA from the Live Aboards." Erica was stunned and pissed off.

"She's not just stealing DNA, she's harvesting the best of the best." Chad added.

Vala tuned out the sciency explanation that Sid began, casually glancing around the room. Janet on the other hand looked really interested, asking a lot of questions.

"Give it to us in English Einstein." Hobbes snapped, cutting the geniuses off before it got more complicated.

"This explains why the Vs didn't just annihilate us. They need us alive. They're stealing the best of our DNA." Sid explained.

"They're using us to fast-track their own evolution." Erica summed up. Vala had already heard this, but that didn't make it any less insidious. The Goa'uld equivalent was probably Nirrti.

Hobbes glanced backward at Teal'c, noticing the medical file in his hands. "Somethin' you wanna share big guy?"

Teal'c looked up, his face a mask of cold anger. Hobbes stepped back as Teal'c stepped forward, "WarriorEvans. You should see this."

Erica glanced at it and felt the blood drain from her face. Apparently her son wasn't enough. They wanted her daughter too. Vala peered over her shoulder and read aloud, "Subject physically changed since initial arrival . . . sharpened senses, elevated immunity, heightened intelligence . . . possibly evolved."

Erica wasn't the only one dangerously close to losing her temper. Vala and Teal'c exchanged a glance; Janet would be having loud words if they ever got home.

To Lisa's annoyance, May hadn't been home. With Adria's scent on the doorknob, there was really only one place she could be. And now she returns to her room to find it occupied.

"I was told this was where I could find Lisa."

"You must be Rafael. I didn't know you had arrived." She said, trying to ignore her breeding skin shrieking that the sweaty human wasn't worthy.

"Yes, a short time ago. This ship, it is quite impressive." He continued, coming closer and trying to look suave.

Lisa stepped back before he could invade her personal space, a low growl in her throat. For once she agreed with her breeding skin; this idiot should be castrated for the good of his species. She was tired and irritated and just wanted to be left alone.

"Lisa?" her silent musing had cost her. Rafael was right in front of her.

"I'm sorry. I'm not feeling well."

He leered, "Perhaps you should lie down?"

That did it. Lisa seized his jacket and yanked him down to eye level. Her words were short and spoken through clenched teeth, "Listen very carefully. I've had a very trying day. I'm stressed, and I'm tired. Get out of my room or I rip you apart."

Message received, Rafael fled. Anna turned off the camera and went straight to her daughter's room, "Why did you send him away? You directly disobeyed my orders!"

_Damn your orders._ Lisa thought, carefully replacing the picture of herself and the Evans siblings on the table, "I'm tired, of being told what to do."

Anna's eyebrows went up.

"I demand you tell me what your plan is for me."

"How dare you talk to me like that."

Lisa growled.

"You wanna strike me, don't you?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then what's stopping you?" Anna mocked her, coming too close for comfort. She struck and something in Lisa snapped. She backhanded her mother and heard a crack.

Stars exploded behind Anna's eyes and she could taste her own blood.

"I didn't mean it." Lisa said, watching Anna wipe some of the blood off her chin. "I'm sorry mother."

Anna placed a hand on Lisa's shoulder, "Don't be. It's your breeding skin, fueling the aggression you need to become queen." And then she grabbed her face. "But you're not queen yet; and until you are, you will do as I tell you!" She shoved her daughter away and went to find Joshua, attempting to realign her jawbone.

"The problem with Lisa may be more serious than I first thought."

"We cannot proceed with interbreeding without Lisa."

Ah loyalty. Why couldn't everyone be like this?

"There's something I need to show you."

Placed in stasis and stored in a hidden chamber was, "A queen egg?"

"I had it preserved. The last of my clutch." She felt some attachment to the unborn hatchling, but crushed the sentiment ruthlessly. "If Lisa proves disloyal she can be replaced. This egg is my only alternate to interbreeding. The very survival of our species may depend on it. Can you hatch it safely?"

"Yes."

"Then begin the process immediately."

"But it will take years for the new queen to reach reproductive maturity. Our accelerated growth experiments have not proven successful."

"The run more!" she snapped, wincing slightly at the pain in her jaw. She waved off Joshua's concern.

"The children from your final clutch have all matured. The only option would be . . ." he trailed off.

"The hybrid baby."

"At birth she did appear more Visitor than human. Our skin, our tail, our claws-"

"Do it."

"Such experimentation could result in the hybrid's death."

"Then she'll die serving her queen."

"How are we progressing with my backup plan?" Anna inquired the next morning.

"The hybrid survived the aging experiment however there were two unforeseen side effects. Her maturation has strengthened her immune system. Her body seems to have healed itself of its chronic pain."

"And the other side effect?"

"She has contracted a strange virus we haven't encountered before. It's dormant for now, but that could change at any time."

The hybrid looked like a three year old, glancing curiously at the bubble over her head before curling into a ball and going to sleep. Anna barely glanced at her as Joshua pulled up a holoscreen.

"Analyses run on this virus produced unusual results. Many humans, including Tyler and the other 28 boys, contracted it. According to human reports the virus was a new influenza outbreak that started in St. Francis Medical Center, a hospital in Colorado Springs. Within hours it had spread across the planet. 3000 humans died before a cure was found."

"And?"

Ignoring an irritated looking Joshua, it was Thomas who stated the obvious, "Because she is a hybrid, the virus may mutate enough to infect us. If we ask humans for the vaccine they might ask questions and learn of our plans for interbreeding."

Anna looked at the sleeping child. Hybrid or not, the survival of her species was more important, "Joshua, do you have enough information to continue without the hybrid?"

"Yes my queen."

She took one last look at the child and wondered if it was any use to keep it alive. Ryan was dead; a Tracker had found him lying next to the rubble of Cohn's former hideout. His skull had been crushed by something round and slightly larger than his own head; both skins were bruised and torn, and several bones were broken. Nobody else knew of the child's existence, and Anna would prefer it be kept that way.

"Kill her."

"Tyler!" Lisa shouted, nodding at Thomas to dismiss him before hugging a slightly better choice of mate.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too, but I have to go take a shower because Thomas is gonna teach me how to download my flight report-"

"Tyler, you can't keep running away from me."

"What are you talking about?"

Lisa came closer and took him by the shoulders, "I know you're holding in your emotions. Your father just died. It's okay to be sad, to feel."

His response hit like a slap in the face, "You don't get it Lisa. I don't wanna feel anything anymore. I just wanna be a shuttle pilot, and forget about my past."

And back to her grandmother . . .

"You were right; I do care about Tyler. He's the one I want to be with. But I'm no longer sure he wants to be with me."

"I'm sure you will figure it out my dear. I will help you."

"I am so grateful that I found you. You're the only one who understands what I'm going through."

"I learned a long time ago what you have already seen, and what your mother refuses to recognize: the good in human emotion."

"Tyler used to care he, he used to feel. Now I'm no longer sure . . . I disobeyed her today."

Diana yanked her hand back.

"I couldn't control my emotions. Now I'm worried she suspects I've changed."

"You're in very dangerous territory my dear. Your mother must suspect nothing. Trust no one on the ship, no one but me. And you must keep my presence a secret."

"I won't tell anyone. I promise."

"I know you are afraid my dear, but everything will be okay." She tried to hug her granddaughter, but Lisa pulled back.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because your mother never did."

This time Lisa allowed it, relaxing in her grandmother's embrace. Diana's nostril's flared at the peculiar scent surrounding Lisa. It wasn't human. She didn't have time to think about it because a much happier looking Lisa pressed something into her hand.

"What's this?"

"I'm all alone up here. So we can always be in touch, and not risk my mother finding out."

When Lisa was gone Diana uncurled her fingers, revealing an old comms device. A smirk crossed her face, _Let's see how you deal with this my daughter._

"How are you feeling?" Lisa asked when she and May were settled on the couch. May shook her head. Concerned, Lisa turned the young woman's face to hers and looked into dull eyes. "Talk to me sweetheart."

May broke down and spilled everything. How she'd lost her parents so young she had no memory of them; how Joe and Erica raised her as their own; how Paul Kendrick was one of the biggest bastards to walk the earth since Ra himself; and her childhood on a military base forever worrying that her pseudo-family wouldn't come back. While she took several deep breaths, Lisa tried to lighten the mood, "Anything else?"

"Yes." She replied. Comforted by Lisa squeezing her hand, she looked at the V and began again:

The Alteran divide and subsequent Ascension; the rise of Origin; the identity of the Tau'ri; Ra's death at their hands; other races; the Sirians; the Tau'ri involvement in the collapse of the System Lords; the fracturing of SG-1; the Ori crusade (thanks to Vala's greed and Daniel's inability to keep his mouth shut); Adria's rise to power (_Why is she hissing like that?_); her pilgrimage to Lunara; the ongoing collapse of Origin (_the Ilvar were a driven and determined bunch_); Adria's "capture" and subsequent detainment by SG-1; and how the confusion caused by the Vs had allowed Adria and Vala to escape.

"And Daniel insisted on following them, not to see if I was okay, but to keep her away from me!" she complained. After a minute she asked, "How's Tyler?"

"I don't see him much, he's been busy with pilot training . . . he told me, he doesn't want to feel anymore, that he wants to forget about his past."

That more than anything broke May's heart. Lisa, seemingly oblivious to her pain, continued, "And my mother invited this other boy from Spain and told me to _entertain_ him." Her expression twisted in disgust, "Stupid horny teenage boy."

"Why don't you say what you really think of him?" May offered sarcastically. She was surprised and a little frightened when Lisa slipped into her native tongue, hissing various profanities and detailing the bastard's unworthiness. A frightened whine brought Lisa down to earth and she stared at the female with reptilian eyes. May was on the verge of collapse.

"Shhh . . . it's okay . . . I'm here now." She pulled May closer, gave her a gentle squeeze and waited for her to cry herself out. Rocking her seemed to help, a simple back-and-forth motion human mothers did to sooth fussy children.

"You've kept this a secret for so long . . . unable to share what you learned and experienced with the human family you loved . . . your happiness, your anger, your pain," She absently played with May's hair, running her fingers through it. "It pleases me that you trust me so."

A pair of sleepy blue-green eyes stared at her in confusion. It was adorable. Lisa took May's face in both hands and leaned in, their foreheads touching. Confusion became fear and May tilted back, "What are you doing?"

"You helped me once."

May cocked her head, hesitating just long enough for Lisa to pull her closer.

"Let me help you."

"O-okay."

Lisa closed her eyes and recalled the feeling of peace that song brought her before reaching for the other's mind. May jerked back sharply, unused to telepathic contact. Bliss was a truly strange thing, connecting the Queen to her subjects and shaping their behavior. It _could_ be used on humans, but only one at a time. At the cost of a splitting headache and crying blood. The only reason neither of these things happened to Lisa was because May didn't fight it, instead letting that peace fill her.

"Are you purring?"

Lisa nuzzled her affectionately, the purr-like sound getting louder. May nudged her back, ignoring the pout Lisa gave her and instead saying, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Lisa quickly considered ways to prolong the conversation, "Maybe a change in environment would help."

May raised an eyebrow, a la Teal'c, and waited for an explanation.

"When was the last time you left the house for more than a few hours?"

"Not since Dad's burial."

"That was more than a week ago! Going somewhere else would give you the chance to be a teenager instead of a Rasi warrior. You can be free for a while."

_Be a teenager . . . be free . . . _Two things she'd been denied for so long and thought only Ascension could bring.

"I'm not joining Live Aboard."

Lisa wasn't surprised she'd caught on so quickly, "You don't have to."

"What about your mother?"

"I'll make something up."

"How long?"

Lisa decided to push it, "A week?"

May shook her head, "Too long."

"Five days?"

"Nope."

"Three? Please?" Lisa pouted, peering through her lashes with huge watery eyes. Like denying her would break her heart. And why was she still holding May's hands?

"Alright. But after three days I'm leaving." May's firm tone was ruined by a yelp as Lisa embraced her. This time it was harder to make her let go.

"I'm going to call Aunt Vala, get it cleared with her, and I'll meet you onboard tomorrow morning."

Lisa nodded eagerly, bouncing towards the door.

Thankfully the conversation with "Aunt" Vala was a short one; aware that May didn't exactly need permission, Vala promised not to mention it to Daniel – ever. Adria grabbed for the phone and Vala reluctantly let her have it, knowing this conversation too would be short. Both girls were stubborn and once they had chosen a course it was near impossible to change their minds.

"Must you?" Adria inquired, wishing this talk was face-to-face.

"Adi . . . I know you don't like it, but I want to. SG-1's too clingy, Mom's barely home anymore, and Tyler's an ass."

Adria still didn't like it, "What about the apartment? You could spend a couple days there."

"I'll be fine Adria. Anna can't do anything until she feels she's earned my trust, which at the moment is nonexistent." A short pause then, "What's really bothering you Tenebris Angela?"

Adria shivered. _That nickname . . . you minx, you know what that does to me! _Shaking off the arousal, she answered flatly, "Nothing."

"Adria . . ."

"Let it go May, please . . . we can talk about it later, my mother's stalking me."

Vala blushed at being caught, then swore when she flew across the room and into a closet.

Smirking at the rattling doorknob and muffled threats from her mother, Adria's attention turned back to the phone.

"Te amo." She said softly.

"Te amo etiam, Tenebris Angela." Hanging up, May packed a bag and went to bed early.

"One unique strand of DNA Joshua, extracted from every carefully selected Live Aboard. The finest genetic material mankind has to offer. Soon it will be ours." Anna purred silkily, following a V into the DNA storage room.

"The last group of Live Aboards arrives tomorrow. Then we will collect the remaining DNA from the humans."

"May Lamont is not human, but she will arrive with the rest of the Live Aboards." she was almost gleeful when she replayed that conversation with Lisa.

_Flashback:_

"_Mother."_

_Anna turned from staring out the window to face her daughter, wondering what she wanted._

"_I have spoken with May. She hasn't left her home since her father was buried. I suggested Live Aboard."_

"_Oh?" That _was_ good news. "How did she respond?"_

"_She seemed nervous about it at first, but I was able to soothe her fears. She has agreed to try for three days." As though foreseeing her disagreement, Lisa continued, "Some humans have difficulty adjusting to a new environment. It may take some time for her to get comfortable, but I think I can convince her to lengthen her stay."_

"_Good. Do whatever you can to ensure her visit is enjoyable."_

_Flashback ends_

"My Queen?" Joshua inquired, curious how this not-human would be different.

"Request a scan in the Medical Bay when she becomes accustomed to living here. After that you can run as many tests on her as you like. Let me know before you begin so I can observe them."

Erica's idea was to break into a lab and steal the virus. Janet had a better idea.

"We could get it," she explained, pulling her I.D. out of her pocket. "I've got the credentials to get in, get what we need, and get out, no questions asked."

"Can I drive this time?"

"That wouldn't be wise ValaMalDoran."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Muscles."

Erica considered it. After so many clandestine activities, doing something legally was appealing. She gave the idea her approval, with the stipulation that if she was unable to acquire a sample, they _would_ break in and steal it. Janet looked glad to be able to help.

"Or I've seen one too many spy movies." She muttered to Erica in an undertone, watching Hobbes make some flippant comment and Teal'c take a menacing step toward him.

"Speaking of spy movies, who came up with your cover story?" the blonde asked curiously.

To her credit, Janet's expression gave away nothing, "What makes you think it's a cover?"

Vala asked Sid if his laptop could access Bejeweled. The eager nerd pulled it up and the two began to compete. Jack calmly observed . . . then shocked everyone by asking about D&D.

"It works, but only for so long. When we met Daniel at the airport he came alone, never mentioned a fiancé or various extended family in our correspondence."

"You're going down lady." Sid teased.

Vala poked him in the side, "Keep dreaming darling."

Janet lowered her voice, "How did you find out?"

"Common sense. That and I ran your names through a government database and it showed none of you were related. Vala didn't show up at all . . . neither did Adria now that I think about it."

Sighing, Janet explained, "The original cover story was that they were colleagues on official Air Force business, but when May came along . . . it was her idea actually, a married couple, their child, her grandfather and a close family friend was a good cover for a long time. Vala, Adria and Cameron had to work with what was there."

Erica nodded, "I just hope the Vs don't find out."

Janet paled, _Shit!_

Somehow Lisa would up in her mother's office watching herself come close to eviscerating Rafael.

"Not your most regal performance." Anna snapped. "You'll be fertile soon. Much will be expected of you as future queen. I need to know when the time comes you'll make the right choices."

Reluctantly, Lisa nodded, "Of course Mother. I've already made plans with Rafael. This time I'll perform all of my duties."

Janet's adventure was successful and rather disappointing (after SGC what wasn't?). Holding a beaker in one hand and a vial in the other she looked at Sid and said, "Let's get to work."

Lisa waited for Rafael, wondering why she felt so ill. Her breeding skin writhed beneath her human skin, and she considered her recent behavior. There was an instinctual undercurrent in her thoughts now, as when she rejected Rafael. He would try to lead, to be the one with the power, and she wouldn't allow it. Tyler was both a submissive and dominant partner, depending on their respective moods at the time, not that it mattered anymore. Then there was May.

A smirk crossed her face and she unconsciously started to purr. May was a perfect choice of mate, blessed with intelligence and excellent health. The only problem was Adria. The purr became a low hiss as Lisa remembered the one thing she didn't have with May that Adria did: a history. The two females were close and their bond was strong, but perhaps being on the ship would weaken their connection.

"Lisa."

"Rafael." She acted like she was glad to see him. Gesturing to the space next to her, she invited him in.

"Thank you for offering to show me the ship. The Peace Ambassador exchange program has many perks but, this is the best of them."

_Subtle, isn't he?_

_He is unworthy._

_Shut up._

"I figured you didn't want to see me again, after last night."

"No not at all. I was just nervous. Not anymore though." She pulled him down to kiss her, stopping just as Tyler walked in.

"Hey! Get away from her."

"Tyler, wait."

"Lisa what the hell's going on here?" Tyler demanded, giving the other male a rough shove.

_He fights like a schoolboy._

"Tyler!"

They either didn't hear her or ignored her, throwing punches until Rafael began to foam at the mouth. Blood streaming from his eyes, he fell to the floor. He twitched once and was still.

"My god."

"As we speak our little virus is winging its way around the globe. Let's just hope that when it interacts with our subjects it remains stable."

"What do you mean remain stable?" Jack demanded.

"The DNA virus is untested. I mean with any experimental treatment let alone a virus there's always the possibility for serious side effects. Even death."

"I added something to keep the bite out of it. There shouldn't be any side effects to speak of." Janet chimed it. The scientist in her noticed that after May would receive a vaccine her body forcibly expelled it, usually within hours and all over the infirmary floor. A small sample of blood revealed an immune system that put seeker missiles to shame. It attacked anything foreign, even if it was already dead. Janet took a weakened sample of those antibodies and added it to the virus, hoping they would keep the other stable.

Jack didn't look pacified, turning to Erica and starting an argument.

"Rafael is on life support. His ailment is the same one that killed the breeding candidates in Beijing and Johannesburg. It appears the stripped ladders of the boys' DNA may be collapsing."

Anna turned abruptly, her jaw _throbbing_. "Fix this!"

"I can't. DNA mixture is the only solution. Until we acquire the last of the DNA from the Live Aboards we could lose all these boys."

"We've come too far to let that happen. I'll get the DNA."

Rafael's pale body lay on a metallic platform, kept alive but not conscious. She hadn't wanted this to happen.

Tyler walked in, looking upset and worried.

"I don't know if you should be here."

"I wanted to apologize. Is Rafael gonna be okay?"

"I don't know."

Tyler looked at her.

"There are things I can't explain to you, things bigger than you and me. I thought you cared about me Tyler. I thought you trusted me. My mother noticed I was lonely and upset and sent for Rafael. She thought he could help me, maybe love me like you did. Even your sister has shown me more love than you."

"You talked to May?"

"I went to check on her last night. She hasn't left the house since your dad was buried Tyler, and she's truly alone now. Adria can take her mind off the pain but she can't erase it. You remember Adria?"

Tyler shuddered. Yes he remembered Adria. And she still scared the hell out of him. _She had glowing red eyes!_

"It's because I care about you that I acted like this. Maybe if you were human you'd understand-"

"I'm not human Tyler." She snapped coldly. "And maybe you're right, if I were human I would understand but I'm not. You should leave."

Tyler looked confused.

"Please." She insisted.

He gave her a hurt look, the left. Lisa resumed her vigil over the body until she felt a presence brush against her mind. _May . . ._

The Ilva in question was waiting until the whole Live Aboard thing was over before getting on a shuttle. At the moment she was in Central Park with an outdoor backpack next to her, drawing in her sketchbook.

She blinked. That feeling of wrongness was back, the same wrongness that usually accompanied being given a vaccine.

_Am I sick?_ May thought, wondering if she'd caught the now-useless Ori plague. Sliding her sketchbook and pencil into her backpack, she entered a state of meditation in order to purge the disease from her system.

On the New York mothership, Mr. Lerner fell to the floor dead.

"Two things were introduced into his system. A virus designed to alter his DNA, and a strange antibody."

Anna looked at the screen, narrowing her eyes. The not-human antibodies were glowing.

"Antibodies should not have bioluminescence." Again, Thomas stated the obvious.

"They overcame the virus and proceeded to attack his DNA." Joshua concluded, giving Thomas another irritated look.

"Had we harvested his DNA for the mixture, it could have contaminated all the human growth matter we spent months collecting."

"My entire plan would have been set back irreparably. Alert the other ships. Rescreen every Live Aboard, tell them what to look for. Once the contaminated Live Aboards have been identified, have the virus and the antibodies removed and the needed DNA extracted. Afterward, anyone carrying the virus will be executed."

"Such an action would surely draw the world's attention." Thomas protested.

"The only credible cover story I can offer the public is to say that these people were Fifth Column and that they died during their attack."

"You would effectively be announcing the rebirth of the Fifth Column."

Anna spoke through clenched teeth, "I have no other choice." Then glaring at the dead Live Aboard, she stalked from the room.

Thomas and Joshua glanced back at the screen as the light around the antibodies faded. Both Vs jumped slightly when Anna reentered and snapped, "Joshua fix my jaw!"

Joshua quickly led the way with Thomas close behind. Nobody saw the glow reappear, becoming brighter.

As always it was difficult to shake off the peace meditation brought, but she managed, boarding a shuttle and missing the excitement.

"Morning Lisa."

"Good morning." Lisa glanced at the backpack and said, "Let's get you settled in okay?"

Once May dropped her stuff on the bed, Lisa gave her a tour of the ship, answering a near-constant stream of questions as best she could. Sometime during the tour, May stopped and absently rubbed her forehead. _What's wrong with me today? I can't get sick up here!_

Lisa placed a hand on her shoulder, "Are you alright?"

"No."

Concerned, Lisa tugged May into a bedroom.

"My room," she explained at the look of confusion, lightly pushing her onto the bed and throwing a grey blanket over her. "Get some sleep okay?"

May didn't answer, instead burrowing beneath the blanket and hoping she could talk her way out of this when Adria found out.

On the Beijing mothership, the infected Live Aboard's DNA was extracted and added to the mixture, where the antibodies rendered the whole machine useless.

She stirred hours later, lifting her head and wondering what time it was. Absorbing strength from the air around her, she weighed her changes of floating back to her room unseen. She reasoned that V ships didn't sleep, and she would need Lisa to show her the way back anyway. The V in question was lying next to her, appearing fast asleep.

"Lisa wake up."

"Mmm? 'S late, go back to sleep."

"Can you take me back to my room?"

Lisa cracked an eye open, fixing the other with a mild glare. The rest of the day had not been good. Diana had apparently decided that because they felt emotion they were a threat to Anna. She had refused to elaborate, instead sending her to Marcus – alive and no longer resembling a hedgehog – with the message that she was alive.

"We don't know what my mother will do. I said it would take some time for you to get used to living on a ship but I don't know how long she'll wait."

May just pouted, staring with watery pleading eyes. Lisa didn't relent, "Stay here tonight, and I'll take you back in the morning 'kay?"

She muttered something under her breath but gave in.

Lisa breathed a sigh of relief, but wasn't sure how long it would last. May sleeping in here granted her some protection from her mother's scientists, but if those scientists moved tonight and reported May's absence to Anna she could end up in their claws anyway. Perhaps they could come up with an excuse in the morning.

**Review people.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Major Simi: Quick as always.**

**Lord Drenghul and kendog52361: Welcome. What do you think so far?**

May's time on the ship went by to quickly to suit Lisa. Day 1 was spent in her room, teaching May about her kind. Anatomy, culture, law, history, language, May absorbed everything with rapt interest. Day 2 was less than pleasant, the Evans siblings crossing paths for the first time since their father's burial. Tyler, assuming naïvely that his sister had joined Live Aboard, asked if she liked living up there. May's temper exploded. Despite Lisa holding her back, May looked Tyler in the eye and _screamed_ at him, a torrent of insults in a variety of human languages and rounding it off with a sharp hiss. Tyler looked like he'd been sucker punched. Lisa said nothing, merely blocked May's view of him and led her away.

Day three was spent Earth-side, catching a movie, wandering the mall and splitting a massive sandwich which Lisa ate most of. When they returned, news reached Lisa that the Beijing DNA mixture had been contaminated and that the machine on the Johannesburg ship was blown up via beam of turquoise light. Anna had left earlier to find out what had gone wrong. The next morning Lisa pleaded with May not to go yet, that she would be safe until her mother's return.

"I said three days Lisa," May explained, for the third time, stuffing clothes into the backpack. "Besides, I promised Adria I'd spend the day with her."

Lisa _whined_, a behavior so unlike a Sirian that May turned around and gave her a look. The V had curled into a ball on the bed, small and vulnerable-looking and unhappy. May's stern look softened as she stroked Lisa's hair, not really surprised by the purring sound.

"Thank you for suggesting this." May said softly, amused when Lisa nudged her hand. "It's the most fun I've had in a long time." She withdrew her hand, "But I have to go home now."

Lisa looked upset but acquiesced, hugging May tightly and accompanying her to the Peace Ambassador Center where they parted ways.

* * *

><p>Adria was unusually possessive, wrapping both arms around May while they watched <em>Dr. Who<em> on Uncle Jack's TV.

"What's wrong Tenebris Angela?"

Adria shivered again, tightening her grip and nuzzling May affectionately, "I missed you."

Now it was May's turn to shiver. Adria's hot breath on her ear did weird things to her stomach. And she'd never been this affectionate before. The ring flickered once and it became clear.

"You're jealous aren't you?"

Adria stiffened, "Am not."

May smirked at her, twining her fingers in her hair. Adria mewled.

"Yes you are."

There was an orange flash in Adria's eyes.

"Am _not_." She growled, secretly enjoying the flush on May's cheeks and the way her eyes darkened.

"It's because of Lisa isn't it Tenebris Angela?"

_Damn it! _Adria narrowed her eyes. "Upstart."

"You love it."

"I do." It was her turn to smirk, leaning toward May until their foreheads touched. The Ilva squeaked and fell backwards, landing on the couch cushions. Adria pinned her down, absently playing with May's hair.

"I don't share," Adria said, gazing into May's eyes. "I saw you first, I know you better, she doesn't."

"Prove it." May demanded, a challenge in her eyes. The front door locked itself and the curtains flew shut.

May glanced at the door in confusion before becoming hyper aware of Adria's body against hers, the scent of cinnamon and desert flowers, her luminous fiery eyes and soothing touch.

"As you wish," she said softly. She leaned down, their foreheads touching again, and pressed her lips to May's, moving them slowly. They were soft and warm, insistent but gentle. May whined in protest when they broke apart. Adria said nothing, watching the red flush on her cheeks fade to a slight pink.

"I love you." she breathed, shivering when Adria nipped at the skin behind her ear. "You're still jealous aren't you?"

"Perhaps a little." Adria admitted, her eyes flashing red for a second.

May sighed, "Adria we've discussed this. Lisa's sweet, and I do love her, but only as a friend."

"A difference she doesn't understand."

May cocked her head, "How so?"

"She never learned the difference between courtship and friendship. Now that her breeding skin is growing she views you as a possible mate. Anyone else you treat with affection becomes her rival and come spring she will challenge those rivals to prove herself worthy of you." she stopped herself, trying to control the fire licking at her veins. May's hand wandered back into Adria's hair and the jealousy drained.

"What if she's trying to get closer to you because Tyler's drifting away from her? She curled her tail around your wrist for cryin' out loud!" Then she slapped her hand over her mouth.

While the O'Neillism was funny (especially coming from Adria), May sensed a strange emotion she was trying to hide.

"You're afraid of losing me aren't you? That without me around you'll go back to being the Orici?"

Almost against her will, Adria nodded. May pulled her closer and kissed her cheek.

"I'm not leaving you Adria."

"I hope not." Though it clearly wasn't over, she let it go for the time being. Instead she looked at May with eyes the color of glowing embers. "Now, where were we?"

May looked up at her shyly and Adria could wait no longer. The TV was quickly forgotten.

* * *

><p>An hour later, Vala walked across the street to check on her girls. She knew as soon as she walked in that something had happened.<p>

May's head was resting on Adria's shoulder and Adria looked smug. Their faces were flushed and their hair was messed up.

"Hello Mother."

Vala blinked, decided she didn't want to know, then went to raid the kitchen.

Smirking, Adria whispered to May, "She thinks we had sex."

"Not on this planet we don't." May grumbled. The tension was killing her but the backlash of energy would flatten the city.

* * *

><p>Attending this little shindig of Anna's was Adria's idea, and to say SG-1 didn't like what they heard was like saying rain was wet.<p>

The Dragon Ships were also paying attention, having somehow hacked into a live feed.

"_Too much power._" One of them commented. "_Too much power for building size._"

"_What would use that much power?_" another inquired. The answer hit like a bolt of lightning from the storm below.

"_Their ships._"

"_It is as Rasi foretold._" Nyx rasped from behind them. "_These are their landing sights._"

"_Their ships are much fewer now._"

"_Does the queen know that?_"

"_That someone is destroying them yes. The extent of that destruction no._"

"_Let's see how long we can keep it that way._"

* * *

><p>"Mom!" Tyler ran up just as she and May were about to leave.<p>

"Hi."

"Tyler."

"I like your haircut . . . I miss you."

"Me too dork."

"Yeah I've, been kinda busy with pilot training."

"I brought something for you." Erica pulled out a jacket. "It was your Dad's. And he really loved it and I know he would want you to have it. Do you wanna see if it fits?"

Tyler nodded, tears in his eyes as he slid the jacket on.

"It looks perfect."

"Mom I'm sorry." Tyler cried into her shoulder. "May was up on the ship and she yelled at me and I thought about what she said and she was right. I was a stupid kid and I'm sorry."

Anna looked over and the smile slid off her face. Tyler was hugging his mother and sister. May looked her right in the eye . . . and curled her upper lip.

_Challenger! Kill!_ Her instinct screamed but she forced it back. The only way a human would know the meaning of the gesture was if a V told them. She attempted to soothe her agitation. Humans had a similar facial expression, May was probably sneering at her.

"It's time." Thomas said in a low voice. Anna put the thought out of her mind.

* * *

><p>"Do you wanna come home for dinner?"<p>

"It's Welsh rabbit night." May added.

"I'd like that. Thanks Mom."

Erica got in the car in a slightly better mood. Perhaps they'd never be as close as they used to be, but at least they could try and repair their relationship.

"Welsh rabbit night?"

"Is now."

* * *

><p>Vala and Teal'c got to the lab shortly before Erica did. This time Sam came with them.<p>

"What's the emergency Sid?"

"Concordia. C'mere check this out. This is a model of the site. Each one's gonna have a Blue Energy Reactor right smack in the middle."

"Get to the point."

"The reactor's too big, way too big. Look we know that whatever the Visitors' plan to use Concordia for, it ain't good."

"Doesn't take a genius to figure that out kid." Hobbes chimed in, rubbing his shoulder. Colonel Carter packed one hell of a punch, but apparently Teal'c could do more damage. He'd heard about him manhandling two grown men after the incident with Cohn and prayed the huge man never found out it was his fault.

"No but it does to figure out this." Sid held up a silver device.

"The holo-device from Malik's safe." Jack looked confused.

"Turns out it's powered by a tiny Blue Energy cell."

"Makes sense everything the Vs have is powered by Blue Energy." Chad interrupted with a shrug.

"Getting to my point, the amount of power needed to run this device is somewhere in the range of, half a watt."

Sam understood immediately, "The reactors will generate too much power for a building that size."

"What would the Visitors need that much power for?"

"There's only one thing that big I can think of."

Again, Sam was the first to get it, "Their ships."

Sid blinked for a minute before grinning, "I like her."

"I don't." Hobbes muttered.

"Hobbes!" Erica snapped.

"The shape of the complex is roughly the same as the motherships. If I'm right," he trailed off, pulled out a model of a mothership, and slid it onto the site model.

"They're building landing sites." Chad concluded.

Sid nodded.

"Yeah but for what?" Jack asked.

"They are preparing to invade JackLandry." Teal'c said.

"There are 538 Concordia sites being built around the world." Chad continued.

"But there are only 29 motherships." Jack protested.

"Do the math, more on the way." Hobbes said, only to be interrupted by Vala, "Quite possibly here already. Or at least nearby."

"If those ships land-"

"They won't." Erica cut him off.

"What are we gonna do, blow up all five hundred sites? Not bloody likely."

"No. We don't have to destroy them, we just have to stop them from being built."

"How? Construction's already under way around the world."

"Do you remember Three Mile Island, a nuclear power plant that almost melted down and scared the hell out of everybody, but there was not a single new plant approved for almost thirty years after it."

"Okay, so what does this have to do with Concordia?"

"Blue Energy. We sabotage the reactor of the New York Concordia site, make it seem, unstable. Dangerous."

"People would panic and the whole thing would come to a stop." Sam concluded.

"The Visitors seem to take pride in their image. This would damage that image." Teal'c intoned.

"Touch on the subtle side for me but, I like it." If it involved an explosion, Hobbes was in. Every time.

"What do you think Sid?"

"Maybe if I get my hands on more Blue Energy to study, I don't know."

"We'll get it for you, I'm sure Lisa can help." Erica assured him. Vala shot her a look of disapproval that was mirrored by Sam.

"Jack, contact Fierro, see if he can get us into the Concordia site. We need to get into that reactor and destroy it before Anna drops five hundred ships on our heads."

"Indeed." Teal'c agreed.

* * *

><p>Sid touched the two blue spheres together and the whole container filled with energy. He yelped and jumped back like he'd been stung.<p>

"How's it going?" Erica inquired.

"Turns out Blue Energy is a particle-antiparticle construct. Once I understood the coupling constant I-"

"Sidney, my patience is running dangerously thin." Hobbes interrupted.

"Right um, you want it in terms a merc can understand." Sid laughed nervously before turning to Sam and whispering, "Help me!"

"It's like sticking a fork into a plug socket." Sam explained without looking up. _We have got to get our hands on some of this!_

"And it won't look like sabotage?" Hobbes asked.

"Nope. Blue Energy gone wild."

"Sid you did it!" Jack praised the young scientist before looking at Erica, "Look uh, we're all set. There's a guard at the security gate and one on the inside, both Fifth Column and they're . . . waiting for your instructions."

"Tell them we're good to go. Tonight."

Poor Sid looked freaked out.

* * *

><p>Lisa entered her grandmother's cell, senses on high alert. She found her grandmother lurking in a corner behind her.<p>

"You must be careful how often you visit. You never know who is watching."

Lisa got straight to the point, "I need to talk to you."

Curious, Diana turned around.

"I need to know what my mother's plans are."

"Not yet, in due time."

"No. Now."

Diana looked vaguely surprised.

"The more I get to know you, the more I see you're just like my mother: all you do is keep secrets. Tell me, Concordia, they're landing sites for an invasion aren't they?"

"Very good, you know more than you let on."

"My friends figured it out."

"Friends?"

"Humans."

"How?"

"All I know is they asked for a sample of Blue Energy and I gave it to them."

"What are they planning?"

"To sabotage the reactor at the Concordia site. Make it seem unsafe so the humans turn against Concordia."

"You must stop them."

"Why?"

"Blue Energy has two forms. In its stable form it powers reactors, but it can also be weaponized. You must stop them, before it's too late!"

* * *

><p>Lisa called May when she couldn't reach Erica. After reassuring the V she would take care of it, the Dragon Ships were alerted. <em>DS Nyx<em> descended at once.

"_Damn stupid Tau'ri._"

* * *

><p>A teal-colored sphere of crystal was beamed into the room, bouncing against the floor with a sharp clack. Sid gave it a look of confusion that became fear when the golf-ball sized orb lit from within, rose to the level of his Blue Energy, and started to suck power from it. Two blue balls hit the ground and he picked them up. The building had started to shake when Sam ran in and pulled him out.<p>

"When this is all over remind me to kill you, okay kid?" she shouted, dragging Sid to the car and giving Erica a murderous glare.

"What the hell is going on?" Hobbes bellowed, as they all turned to look at the reactor building in horror.

Bolts of teal lightning danced across the walls while workers fled the area in a panic. Sparks were flying everywhere before the crystal, now bloated to the size of a small car, busted through the roof and vanished in a flash of white light. And then the power went out.

* * *

><p>"<em>Well Nyx, you did it.<em>" Erebus hissed dryly. "_Now what the hell do we do with this thing?_"

"_It contains too much power even for our five ships to handle. Besides it's unstable._"

"_It's gonna explode isn't it?_"

"_Probably. Get the magnets online._"

Enveloping the sparking teal crystal in a magnetic field, the Dragon Ships hurled it into deep space so it could detonate without damaging something important.

* * *

><p>When the only sources of light in the room are two pairs of eyes, it's rather disconcerting. Cameron Mitchell found this out the hard way, fumbling in the dark for a flashlight and screaming like a girl when he saw said pairs of eyes.<p>

"And I thought you were a soldier." Adria sighed, the orange eyes obviously hers. Which meant the turquoise eyes were May's.

"Cam?" Daniel shouted.

"What happened Mitchell?" Jack asked, entering the room at top speed and running into Daniel. There were two distinct smacking sounds followed by groans.

"Ah fer cryin' out loud!"

"Jack?"

"No it's the Easter Bunny!"

"What the hell's goin' on?" Cameron shouted, feeling his way forward before tripping over something, slamming into the kitchen table and hitting the floor.

"Ow!" he choked out, winded.

"In the Ori galaxy we don't have this problem." Adria commented dryly, calmly observing the three Tau'ri pick themselves up.

"Sometimes I think they're too advanced for their own good." May replied, resting her head on Adria's shoulder.

"I agree."

Daniel's glare was aimed about two feet to the left of Adria, "Knock it off."

"Don't torment them Tenebris Angela." May said teasingly.

Daniel's eyes almost popped out of his head, but before he could say anything Cameron piped up, "Let it go Jackson."

Adria flicked her wrist and a small flame appeared over her hand. Her other arm was keeping May upright as opposed to rolling on the floor in hysterical laughter.

When somebody knocked, Adria had to answer, "Enter."

Janet walked in with a flashlight in one hand and a medical bag in the other, glanced from the flame above Adria's hand to the men on the kitchen floor, and cracked a wide smile, "That is the funniest thing I've seen in a long time."

Jack hadn't just run into Daniel, he'd landed on him, while Cameron just barely missed falling onto both of them.

"I just got a call from Sam," Janet began, dragging the men into chairs while Adria led May to the couch. "Sid somehow weaponized the Blue Energy sample he had and nearly flattened the city. He says a ball of teal crystal appeared in a flash of white light and deactivated the sample before Sam pulled him out. The crystal swelled to the size of a car, busted through the roof of the reactor building and disappeared in a flash of white light. The power's out across the city."

"Just. Perfect."

"Wonder if Erica's happy." Cameron mused.

* * *

><p>Blue Energy had been used to turn the power back on. Vala had excused herself and taken the stairs to the floor below, and the swearing was still heard in the lab. When she came back, the only thing Teal'c said was, "Indeed."<p>

"Better?" asked Hobbes.

"Not really."

Sam, ever the physicist, reasoned through the night's events aloud, "Blue Energy has two forms, stable and weaponized. Any idea how that happened Sid?"

"No." the quirky scientist found his shoes more interesting than anyone else in the room.

"Okay, so we nearly took out New York City with said weaponized energy. Then another piece of technology appears in the room, deactivates our Blue Energy and disappears the same way." She hoped nobody noticed the way she had to censor her words. Fact was someone had beamed that thing in and back out.

"Think it was the Vs?" Jack asked.

Teal'c shook his head, "We would have been captured JackLandry."

"Teal'c's right." Erica added. "Anna's dying to know who's behind this."

"So who did it?" Vala asked. While they doubted the Vs had beaming technology, they couldn't rule it out either.

"Let us hope they are on our side." Teal'c mused.

Erica excused herself. Hobbes was just about to follow when Teal'c's hand landed on his shoulder. Sam nodded to him and went after Erica.

"You okay?"

"I don't know. It's like no matter what we do she's a step ahead every time!"

"You were willing to destroy a city full of innocent people, including your own children, to bring Anna down. There are some lines you just don't cross Erica, even in war."

Erica didn't say anything as the shock of what she'd almost done hit home. She could have lost her son and her little girl tonight.

"Where do we go from here Sam?"

Sam gave it some honest thought. Project Aries, a branch of Homeworld Command as of this morning, was rapidly becoming their only option, but they would have to deal with civilians in the crossfire.

"I don't know, but there's nothing more we can do tonight. Go home, have dinner with your family and get some sleep. Maybe tomorrow you'll have something."

A grateful Erica nodded. She returned home, pulled her daughter into a hug, and helped make dinner. She was tossing a salad when there was a knock on the door.

"Ty, just come in."

It wasn't Tyler who walked in but Lisa. May poured the Welsh rabbit into a bowl and set the bowl on the table.

"Tyler's not coming. He's with my mother. There's this connection a V Queen makes with her subjects, it's called Bliss."

"Yeah, Ryan told me it's like mind control, what does that have to do with Tyler?"

"We didn't think it could work on humans."

Erica didn't like the sound of that.

"My mother Blissed Tyler. I'm sorry Mrs. Evans, May."

"Is he okay?"

"He'll be alright. There are no lasting effects but-"

"If Anna can Bliss humans, that's it. We've lost."

"No. There's still a way we can win, if you're willing to take a risk."

Erica was willing to do anything at this point.

* * *

><p>Hobbes and Jack approached Sid and Sam, the former holding a pair of binoculars.<p>

"This better be good egghead."

"Trust me, you're gonna want to see this."

"Infrared binoculars?"

"Recalibrated to recognize Blue Energy spectral signature. Take a gander at the mothership."

Jack pointed the binoculars at it.

"See the big blue splotch?"

"Yeah."

"That's the Blue Energy signature of the ship. Now look over there."

Jack did so. "That can't be right."

"Lemme see." Hobbes took the binoculars. "What the hell are they?"

"Motherships. Invisible to telescopes, radar, any human technology."

"How many?"

"How many Concordia sites are there around the world?"

Jack answered, "Five-hundred and thirty-eight."

Hobbes continued, "Their invasion ships aren't on the way. They're already here."

Sam took the binoculars from Hobbes and looked up, seeing little blue dots just like the mothership. Then a beam weapon hit one of the dots and caused an explosion.

"What the hell was that?"

Not fifteen minutes later they were all in Sid's lab . . . again. Erica entered with Lisa and kicked the whole thing off, "Every attempt we have made to take down Anna has failed. We are surrounded by an invasion fleet, we need options. We don't stand a chance in hell of stopping Anna without help." Glancing back at Lisa she continued, "This is help."

Lisa placed a silver device on a desk and activated it.

"This is my grandmother, Diana."

"I was queen before Anna overthrew me."

Vala was clearly dying to make a smart remark, but Teal'c shook his head.

Erica picked up where she left off, "Diana's gonna help us make sure history repeats itself. We're gonna overthrow Anna."

"Like Apophis all over again?" Vala muttered to Sam.

"Sort of." The blonde replied.

* * *

><p>May finished putting the dishes up when the vision hit:<p>

"_Put skin on my new daughter." A god-awful screech. "Make sure she looks exactly like Lisa."_

May seized the countertop and swore, the contact device shooting into her outstretched hand.

"_Nyx, summon the Pilots and get me up there now!_"

"_Aye Rasi._"

Given the fact her experience on board ships was limited to the Odyssey and an Ori warship, May wasn't sure what to expect.

The corridors were tube-like, with smooth rounded walls and ceiling. The floor itself was flat. The lights were kept low for the more nocturnal of their kind. The air was dry and cool. A Sirian, forest green in color with an iguana-like humanoid body, led her to their version of a conference room before racing down the hallway on all fours.

"_Evening Rasi._" Erebus greeted, curious yellow eyes glancing her way.

"_Evening._"

"_What's happening?_" a curious Calypso rasped, cocking her head.

May explained the vision, how that fit into the Fifth Column's last stand and what that meant for the Tau'ri.

"You get all that from an egg hatching?" Anarchy inquired in guttural English, ducking to avoid the swipe of Calypso's paw.

"This whole conflict will come to a head in less than a day. If it's just Anna to worry about, me and Adria can engage her in mental battle."

"Your combined powers would tear her mind apart." Nyx commented. "Not that we wouldn't mind, but if you kill her we'll have to kidnap her mother, place her on trial and then execute her."

"I think the point she's trying to make is the armada." Firestorm corrected. "Regardless of who rules at sunset tomorrow they are still a threat."

"Can they be drawn away? Force a confrontation and get them away from here?"

Brief glances were exchanged before Nyx summoned her ship's Lawkeeper. A lime-green Sirian entered, removing a PADD-like device from a satchel she carried. Stylus at the ready she glanced at Nyx and asked, "Yes?"

"Search through our laws. We need a way to remove the Queen's armada."

Lawkeeper flicked through screens for a minute, "In conflicts over territory, the incumbent party's claim to the land could be disputed by a challenger. If the challenger had a stronger claim the incumbent was forced to leave. If the claim was of equal strength the two parties would fight for it. The winner received the disputed land as a prize for their victory. Do the Queen and her subjects view this world as their territory?"

"They act like it." Anarchy muttered, ducking a second swipe.

"They've been here for fifty years, sending sleeper agents ahead to bring this world to the edge of environmental, religious, political and financial ruin, all because they're a dying race."

A low snarl came from Calypso, whose third swipe connected with the back of Anarchy's head.

"The humans at Stargate Command believe they descended from the Thunder Rasi yes? Why don't they do something?" Lawkeeper continued.

"The Thunder Rasi believe in free will and won't take that choice away from anyone, even if other's get hurt because of it." May explained. "They believe by doing so they will become like the Fire Rasi."

"They took it to the other extreme! Are they aware of that?" a pissed off Erebus demanded, slamming a fist into the slab of rock serving as a table. A round of swearing quickly followed and he excused himself to find the ship's Healer.

"Are they?" Calypso inquired casually.

"If they are, they probably don't care."

The swearing from down the corridor got louder.

"He broke something didn't he?"

"Sounds like it." Nyx chuckled. "What a moron."

"And the High Rasi?" Firestorm cut in, folding his paws and resting them in front of him.

"Still have some faith we can do this without help. If we can't they will interfere. The humans at Stargate Command won't do anything for fear of civilians finding out what goes on in that mountain."

"Pilot Nyx, we could challenge them." Lawkeeper offered. The confused look prompted elaboration. "It's a large-scale territorial dispute. We challenge their claim on the basis of our alliance with the humans. If they have any honor left they will answer our challenge. If they have no honor at all they'll jump at the chance to get rid of us."

Nyx nodded, bringing up a screen displaying the galaxy, "The rest of our fleet has assembled here, in orbit around Hobbes' Planet. They considered arriving as one, but this idea is better."

"Yes." Erebus agreed, reentering the room with a bandaged paw. "Let's match their superior numbers against our superior technology."

"Superior numbers?" May asked, curious.

"We have fifty intact ships in our fleet, with stronger shields and better weapons. They have one hundred ships left, all close to the city because they think we're gonna kill the Queen. Their only weapon is a beam of Blue Energy, easily blocked by our shields or deflected by our own beam weapons, and they don't _have_ any shields." Lawkeeper replied smugly.

"And because we're spiteful bastards," Nyx said, rubbing her paws together with a sadistic cackle, "Let's shove another thorn into the Queen's side shall we?"

"How?" May asked with gleeful expression.

"Direct us to London and we'll show the Fifth Column how you're supposed to shut reactors down!"

* * *

><p>Just when Anna thought her headache couldn't get any worse, news came that the London and Paris Concordia sites had to be shut down. It was the same thing that happened in New York: a sphere of crystal appearing and disappearing in a flash of white light and teal lightning dancing over the walls of the building. Some Vs in Paris reported hearing sibilant laughter and seeing something fly away from the area so quickly it was more like a blur.<p>

* * *

><p>Having fulfilled their spite quota for the time being, May was beamed to the surface while an urgent message was sent to the High Council. <em>DS Fantasy<em> arrived within the hour, conferring with the other ships before drifting forward alone.

The breeding sleet, recognizing what was happening, also sent one ship forward.

"_Sons of the Queen, what rights do you have to this world?_" Fantasy hissed.

After a minute of silence the reply came, "_Their females will ensure our survival and their planet will supply us until we can find a new homeworld._"

Fantasy mused on the idiocy of that comment before saying aloud, "_We challenge your claim, on the grounds of a pre-existing alliance between the Sirian Exiles and the Tau'ri of Earth._"

The V soldiers hadn't heard of the Tau'ri but they did know what Earth meant. As for the challenge itself, it was a quick way to end this fight with the Dragon Ships, who would otherwise drive them to extinction without help.

"_Name your terms._"

"_All or nothing._" The pilot of the V ship swallowed nervously. Only one side would be victorious in this fight.

"_We accept._"

"_Good._" Fantasy sent the coordinates of Hobbes' Planet, "_This world, right now._"

The last hundred ships in the V armada followed the Dragon Ships into hyperspace.

Nyx sent a message to May's contact device: _Challenge accepted. Begin Phase II._

* * *

><p>"Did you get Tyler off the ship?"<p>

"He's okay. Now I wanna know the plan, and why you wouldn't tell me until now."

"I didn't want you to have too long to think about it."

"In order for our plan to work we need a way to get your mother away from her security." Jack explained.

Hobbes continued, "And that's where you come in. We're gonna fake a kidnapping."

Lisa protested, "Once my mother realizes I'm missing she'll stop at nothing to find me."

Chad spoke up, "When the time is right, we want her to find you."

"Why?"

"We need to eliminate her."

Lisa glanced at Jack, then Teal'c, Sam and Vala. Janet had opted to sit this one out.

"Ever since the failed assassination attempt her security won't let anyone close enough to kill her."

"Except the one person, she would expect least. You."

Lisa looked terrified. Vala lost it, "That's your plan? Turn Lisa into a murderer? Have you gone crazy?"

Erica rolled her eyes, "Lisa can do it."

The V's expression screamed 'No I can't' but Erica ignored it.

"She has no experience in battle WarriorEvans. You will be responsible for her state of mind if she succeeds." Teal'c continued.

"So be it."

* * *

><p>After an hour of tension, both Lisa and Anna emerged from the building unharmed.<p>

"She was unsuccessful." Teal'c said quietly.

"'Course she was." Vala continued, "She's not a soldier, she's a kid!"

Sam flipped her cell open.

A worried Jack answered, "Carter are you okay?"

"We're fine sir, why?"

"Everyone's worrying over here Sam. What's going on?"

"Lisa couldn't do it. Prepare for evacuation."

* * *

><p><em>DS Nyx<em> returned to Earth in record time.

"_Update._"

"_In twenty minutes Anna will confront her mother. As soon as she gets there, she is yours._"

Nyx felt the anticipation rise, "_As you command, Rasi._"

* * *

><p>As soon as the shuttle docked, Anna's claws sliced across Lisa's face. She reveled in the animalistic shriek of pain her daughter produced as she turned to the guards, "Take her away. I'll deal with her later."<p>

* * *

><p>"Is she ready?"<p>

"Yes." Joshua replied, the sense of defeat miraculously not on his face.

"Let me see her."

The newborn Queen in Lisa's skin entered the room, her face empty of expression, "Hello Mother."

"Has she watched all of Lisa's memories?"

"Just what she'll need for tonight. Tyler will not know the difference."

Anna tucked a strand of hair behind the hatchling's ear before taking her face in her hands, "Go to him my daughter."

"Yes Mother."

"She's perfect."

* * *

><p>Lisa shivered slightly in the damp air, doing her best to treat her wounds.<p>

"You've certainly looked better dear." Was Anna's only greeting as two guards forced her to her feet.

"Welcome to your new home. Soon enough your grandmother won't need it."

A third guard reentered the chamber and whispered in her ear, "Diana isn't here my Queen."

Anna roared, raising a hand to strike Lisa again. She cringed in fear and waited for the blow that never came.

"You're pathetic." Her words cut deep. "Is the pain too much for you? Are you going to cry like a human?"

"Why don't you just kill me?" Lisa sounded confused.

"I wasn't lying when I said not all human emotion is bad." She seized Lisa's chin. "This one's called vengeance. I want to see you suffer. Enjoy the show."

Activating a holo screen, she and her guards left the dungeon to intercept Diana.

Lisa watched helplessly as a second queen wearing a skin identical to hers mated with Tyler, her only consolation being her "sister's" age. If she were only hours old she wouldn't be fertile yet. An assumption that went straight to hell when her doppelganger sat up, unhinged her jaw, and bared her real teeth.

"No . . ."

Her fangs shredded Tyler's throat with the merciless efficiency of a Queen.

"NOOOO!"

* * *

><p>Earthside a pair of turquoise eyes snapped open in fury. Adria jumped the couch and teleported them both to a remote region of Canada where May screamed, "SANGUINIS PRETIUM!"<p>

An aurora materialized above the New York mothership, causing it to shake. The newly hatched queen looked up in confusion before leaping off the bed in terror. A column of multi-colored light slammed her to the floor and the pain engulfed her. She shrieked in agony, the light dissolving her false skin like an acid. Her nerves were on fire as her thrashing grew more and more violent. The ringing in her ears was deafening. Her vision darkened and her mind shut down. Her body twitched once, twice and then was still.

* * *

><p>"Hello my children. It is your mother, Diana. For fifteen years I have dreamed, of being reconnected with my children again."<p>

Anna rapidly approached the room where her mother had gathered her followers.

"You have been lied to. Misled. My daughter had me imprisoned because she thought she had a better plan for our species. She has proven ill-equipped to be your queen."

* * *

><p><em>Nyx<em> hesitantly contacted May after the colored light faded. An unfamiliar mind reached out to her.

_Nyx?_

_Sayrin Rasi Adria? Where is Rasi May?_

_She's very upset right now, but if you don't hurry this will all have been for naught! You have forty seconds._

Nyx turned to her Sic, "_Get ready._"

* * *

><p>"The human soul is a gift. We must embrace the soul, embrace humanity."<p>

Anna entered the room and was completely ignored. Good, she could get this over with quickly.

"Together, humans and Visitors can live side by side in peace."

Anna quickened her step as her mother's children, _her_ subjects, knelt before Diana.

"Your rightful Queen has returned, to lead you on a new beginning."

Anna positioned her tail.

"From this moment on-"

A bolt of teal lightening slammed down behind her. Diana spun on her heel in shock. There stood Anna, now gripping her tail like a lifeline and staring in horror at a smoking hole in the floor between them. A beam of light hit the spot, drawing a circle around where Anna stood. A column of teal light slammed down around her, cutting her off from the rest of the room. A beige spiral reminiscent of threvast transport rings materialized around Anna and disappeared with her.

* * *

><p>Vala entered Hobbes' now empty basement, seeing what was left of the Fifth Column. The sight of Chad trying to contact Hobbes brought an unseen wry smile to the former host's face. Where Hobbes had gone he wouldn't be needing a phone, and as sick as it sounded, she was proud of Adria for keeping the destruction in a limited area (and not leveling the city in a fit of fiery rage). Sid absently fingered the silver piece of V tech Lisa had given them, yelping when it activated. The relief in the room was palpable when the face that greeted them wasn't Anna like they feared, but Diana instead.<p>

"Good evening."

With Erica seemingly upset about something Vala took the helm, "What's happening?"

"It may interest you to know that I am queen once more. I expect to have control over my daughter's more, rebellious, children by next week at the latest." Seeing this failed to generate a positive response, Diana took a closer look at what humans she could see. The scientist Sidney hadn't stopped backing away since she initiated contact, Jack was comforting Erica a short distance away, someone was pacing outside her field of vision and the last human, Vala, was glaring at her, as though this whole thing was her fault. Apparently it had been a rough day for them.

Vala's phone vibrated and she backed into a corner to check it. A glance at the screen and the blood drained from her face. She didn't look up, just called another number.

"We need to get up there now."

"What are you talking about Vala?"

"Diana's retaken the throne, but Adria just sent me a message. Something's gone wrong Daniel I can _feel_ it."

Erica flawlessly assumed command, "Are the shuttles still running?"

"I can have one ready in half an hour, why?"

"We're coming."

* * *

><p>Erica, Jack, Sid, Chad, and SG-1 stayed in a group when they got off the shuttle. All but Jack, Sid, and Chad had a weapon within reach. Nobody was there to greet them when they landed, which wasn't that strange. They had just overthrown the reigning queen.<p>

No what was strange was the empty corridors. They were completely alone. Even the shuttle pilot had vanished as soon as the craft was docked.

"Now what?" O'Neill asked in a hushed voice.

"WarriorEvans knows the ship better than any of us O'Neill." Teal'c replied, giving Chad a warning glance. The reporter's mouth shut with a snap; he too had seen Teal'c manhandle two grown men.

Vala listened carefully. There was a faint sound from out of the silence, rising and falling. Teal'c heard it as well, edging forward. The rest of the group followed close behind them. As the noise got clearer Sam shivered. It sounded like an animal wailing in terrible pain.

"Have we not heard this sound before O'Neill?" Teal'c inquired, lowering his weapon.

Jack did think it was disturbingly familiar, but the only time he recalled hearing it was . . . after Daniel Ascended the first time. When everyone thought he was dead. May had cried late into the night and hadn't stopped until exhaustion took her sometime the next morning.

Daniel shivered. What the hell had happened?

"May sounded like that once." Erica said. "Right after Joe died. I don't think either of us slept that night."

Janet made the connection, "She did this when we thought Daniel had died and right after her father died."

"Not to sound like I don't care but, if we're all here, than who died?" Vala asked hesitantly, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.

Erica turned white as a sheet. "Tyler." Was all she said before bolting down the corridor.

They found May on her knees outside a large room. Adria had both arms around her and was whispering in her ear. Erica peered into what was apparently a bedroom.

"Tyler!" she shouted, running to the bed only to back away with a choked cry. His throat was torn to shreds and his eyes were glassy. "Ty, my baby, my baby . . ." she trailed off.

Vala's hand touched Adria's shoulder, "Can you bring him back?"

SG-1 waited for her answer.

She shook her head, "I had to get her away before she leveled the city by accident. She asked me when we got here if I could bring him back, but it was too late by then."

Cameron swore under his breath. Vala had pulled herself to her feet and noticed something lying against the wall. A green wasp-shaped body, four long thin legs, thin tail that ended in a serrated spade shape, and a round head with wide unseeing yellow eyes. Its lower jaw hung open, displaying sharp needle-like teeth. It was lying in a pool of dark blood. There appeared to be steam rising from the body.

That was how Diana found them, clustered in her granddaughter's room in one large group. Tyler was dead, beyond even the help of V technology, and lying a short distance away was a dead queen. She knew it wasn't Lisa, as she was still in the dungeon shrieking her head off.

Expressions of dislike were occasionally thrown her way, along with an expression of murderous hatred from a female with flickering orange eyes.

Diana swallowed nervously. It was now her job to deal with the problems she'd inherited.

**Longest chapter yet. I'm thinking one more chapter to wrap everything up. So next time: the fallout. Will the Vs stay or go? What happens to the Fifth Column? Will the rest of the world find out about Stargate Command? Will May _ever_ catch a break?**


	21. Chapter 21

**Lord Drenghul: I'll take amusement.**

**Major Simi: Well since you asked nicely.**

The Sirian Imperial Fleet had spent several days making preparations; stocking food, water and medical supplies, scanning all systems, test firing weapons, making minor repairs and cleaning both the inside and outside of their ships. The ships' bodies were grey, sleek and shiny. The horns on the Dragons' heads, as well as the claws on paw-shaped landing gear, gleamed like polished ivory. The paws of the landing gear were currently balled like fists, the legs tucked against the body, while the horns were tilted backward to lie flat against the skull. In place of eyes was a large one-way picture window. They looked less like ships and more like wingless grey missiles, designed to bring swift death to anyone who crossed them. As the Dragons entered formations of five, _DS Nyx_ dropped out of hyperspace with the other five in tow. Fantasy broke away to join a group of four while Nyx and the other swung around to face the approaching armada.

Not built for such extreme methods of travel, 100 V ships tumbled out of hyperspace, crashing into each other and spinning off course. From their perspective, defeat was inevitable. Their Queen had assured them their numbers would lead them to victory. The truth of the matter was a bitter immolation pill to swallow. Numbers meant _nothing_ when your foes had the advantage of superior technology.

Each Dragon Ship had two ships on radar, the pilots barking orders they'd waited _years_ to give:

"_Raise shields to full power._"

"_Shields at full power._"

"_Charge primary weapons._"

"_Charging primary weapons._"

"_Lock on the targets._"

"_Locking on targets._"

The Visitor pilots could only watch in horror as the mouths of the dragons opened, a cannon extending from within.

"_Bring secondary weapons online._"

"_Secondary weapons online._"

"_FIRE!_"

"_Firing primary weapons!_"

A beam issued forth from the cannons, eerily reminiscent of the Ori warship's primary beam weapon, incinerating half of the V armada.

"_Shields at 70%._"

"_They're fleeing._"

"_Scatter and pursue._"

The Dragon Ships locked onto their predetermined targets and ran them down.

"_Charging secondary weapons._"

"_Quit running so I can crush you like the bugs you are!_" Nyx shrieked, Erebus and the others backing her up.

"_Fire!_"

"_Firing secondary weapons!_"

The V ship stood no chance, exploding into a blue fireball. Forty-eight other blue fireballs had ignited across a large area, making Hobbes' Planet look like a world being orbited by blue stars.

Only one V ship remained, attempting to flee the area. One Dragon, looking noticeably older than the others, lurched forward and gathered speed. The jaws of the dragon closed on the back of the retreating V ship, canine fangs piercing the hull. Teal lightning danced across it, disabling the craft and leaving it defenseless. The old Dragon drifted back before blasting the last breeding ship into oblivion.

When the smoke cleared and the blue fires burned themselves out, there was complete silence. Then one of them roared. The roaring increased in volume as others joined in, vocalizing their victory.

_DS Nyx_ immediately jumped into hyperspace, barreling towards Earth.

Dropping out of hyperspace, Nyx shouted for the emergency break. Flashing with barely constrained energy, an aurora spiraled over the city where Rasi's mother lived, specifically over that pathetic excuse for a mothership. The center of the aurora was spinning like a hurricane's eye, releasing a multi-colored beam of light that slammed into the ship's hull, sucking the rest of the energy with it like water down a drain.

Nyx hesitantly contacted May after the colored light faded. An unfamiliar mind reached out to her.

_Hello?_

_Sayrin Rasi Adria? Where is Rasi May?_

_She's very upset right now, but if you don't hurry this will all have been for naught! You have forty seconds._

Nyx turned to her Sic, "_Get ready._"

Training their sensors on the large group of Visitors gathered in one place, they took aim and waited. Finally, Anna entered the room. Nyx flipped the switch and sent down the spiral.

"_Remember we need her alive._" She said over the intercom. The response was a dull thwacking sound.

"_We got her._"

* * *

><p>For the second time in less than a month, the Evans were preparing for a funeral. Erica was an emotional train wreck as she sorted through her son's possessions. May could do it faster with telekinesis but chose not to. She'd spent a couple days alone up in Canada, thinking things through. Though she had claimed Blood Price for Tyler's death, she wasn't as upset as she thought she should be. Of course she hadn't seen him in a decade or so, during which time they'd grown up and apart. Their interests were too different even in spite of Tyler's attempts to spend time with her. As she'd met relatively few aliens that could be trusted, she was extremely wary of the Visitors. She couldn't tell Tyler about all the things she'd seen at SGC because he would have blabbed to Lisa and the whole thing would have snowballed from there. Mom nearly went off the deep end trying to bring Anna down; as in willing to sacrifice innocent lives to do so.<p>

The more she thought about it the angrier she got. She understood why nobody would believe the Fifth Column, because they were civilians – later labeled terrorists. And Project Aries, a cabal of military and government leaders from around the world, also had advanced knowledge and chose to do nothing to stop it. Hell even Stargate Command sat and twiddled their thumbs. She cursed the humans who were able to do something and did nothing, cursed the Vs for screwing with the planet, the threvast for living, and the Ancients for their thrice-damned non-interference policy! This train of thought began a long list of 'what-ifs' and wondering if there was anything she could have done to change things.

Adria's arms slid around May's waist and pulled her close, murmuring, "Stop tormenting yourself."

"I thought you couldn't read my mind." May replied, leaning back.

"I don't need to; your expression and body language make your thoughts painfully clear." Adria turned May around and forced her to meet her eyes, "Listen to me. There was _nothing_ you could have done. Anyone who knew anything was prepared to wait for the 11th hour before responding to an obvious global threat. The only reason Homeworld Command absorbed Project Aries was to keep humans from becoming aware of Stargate Command. Project Aries had years of intelligence but chose not to use it. They were willing to abandon this world with the best and brightest minds the Tau'ri have to offer and settle elsewhere. Whether it would be permanent or temporary I cannot be sure."

May hid her face against Adria's neck, drawing comfort from her presence, "Maybe if I asked Grandma to send me back in time . . ."

Adria blinked. Time travel caused no end of hell at Stargate Command, what with them trying not to alter their own future too much. That fact she was even considering it revealed May's desperation.

"Don't." Adria again forced eye contact. "How would it help? If you stayed with the Evans you _could_ stop Tyler from crashing his bike, thus preventing your father from leaving. With his family whole, the Vs would hold no draw for him, and without Lisa's presence the Fifth Column would be denied a source of information. Without ship access, Anna's soldiers would have hatched and scattered to eradicate the Fifth Column, leaving trails of destruction in their wake. Or, supposing Tyler and Lisa got together anyway, without you to contact help, the hybrid would have killed Ryan and then Blissed the majority of humanity." Seeing she was getting through, Adria continued more softly, "If you hadn't come to live with Daniel, there wouldn't be an agreement with the Sirians. And that future you saw, where I Ascended and entered eternal combat with Morgan Le Faye, would have come true."

May's huge turquoise eyes filled with tears, "No."

Adria nodded, "Yes. Anna is in Sirian custody. That she will be executed is a foregone conclusion, all that's left to decide is how. Mounting pressure from both humans and Sirians will force Diana to gather the rest of the Vs and leave this world. Would you give that up? Would you abandon everyone here who loves you in order to try and change things? Would you leave me?"

That was low and they both knew it. No, May wasn't able to leave Adria, nor could Adria come with her as it would _really_ screw things up. She looked into Adria's flickering orange eyes, allowing their warmth to soothe her.

"I just want this to be over." She sobbed, resting her head against Adria's shoulder. The half-Ori's grip tightened and she whispered, "Me too."

* * *

><p>Vala discreetly observed the funeral goers, consisting of teachers and students from Tyler's school, as well as family members, and let out a soft sigh. Vala did not like funerals, finding them depressing, and took to glancing around. Adria had May in her arms, her glare at Daniel daring him to challenge her. Daniel's mouth was set in a thin line, but as they were in public he couldn't say anything. Casually glancing over her shoulder, Vala spotted two people in the back of the church that had no reason to be there. Discreetly nudging Daniel, she flicked her eyes towards the back of the church. His eyes narrowed when he glanced back, nudging Teal'c in the side. The Jaffa looked around, saw both Kendrick and Bolling sitting in the back pew, and made a soft angry sound in his throat.<p>

Jack Landry, presiding over the funeral on Erica's request (and, he suspected, Diana pulling a few strings) was the only one to notice a brief flash in Adria's eyes. Puzzled, he shook it off and glanced at poor Erica, red-faced and crying, and noticed the bags under her eyes. He wondered when she'd slept last. When the funeral was over, the casket laid to rest, and the last of the food eaten, a tired Erica was led to the car by May. The Ilva felt rather than saw SG-1 block off Kendrick and Bolling, but she did hear Uncle Teal'c crack his knuckles and actually _growl_ at them. Father Jack raced to catch up with them, "Are you alright Erica?"

The blonde shook her head, "I tried to get him to come home Jack, but he wanted to hear it from Lisa instead. May's all I have left." A glance toward her daughter caused her brow to furrow in confusion. May and Adria appeared to be conversing by expression alone, appearing to reach some agreement before mouthing _I love you_ to each other.

"Adria wants to come over later. Is that okay?"

"Of course it is honey."

"Let's go home."

The next few days were stressful. For Erica anyway. May flat out refused to let her wallow in self pity, insisting she take care of herself. When the 'what-ifs' began, May shot each of them down mercilessly.

"You can't change the past. So look ahead . . . or risk being left behind."

May had gone to get something from upstairs while Erica stared after her in stunned disbelief. She wondered in a detached manner if she could handle a tequila right now.

Like May could read her mind, she shouted downstairs, "No alcohol."

"Damn." Erica muttered to herself.

* * *

><p>May was deep in meditation, her room illuminated by the soft light of her ring. Allowing her breathing to slow, she considered what needed to be done. According to Visitor law, a Queen was not considered Queen until she had Blissed her subjects. With Anna in Sirian custody, Diana's Blissing of the Vs would have to be delayed as long as possible, and she already had a couple ideas. Lisa wasn't receiving the care she required, particularly in her current mental state. If she didn't get up there soon, Lisa would turn feral. Because May did not trust Diana, getting Lisa off the ship removed something the old Queen could bargain with. <em>Rescue mission<em> moved to the top of her mental to-do list, right behind _reveal Stargate Command to her mother_. SGC had been hidden for too long and their silence had cost her personally, but she'd have to play her cards just right. And if she played her cards right, say get Erica curious and point her at Daniel, it would give her and Adria some time alone.

_Alone time_, she thought with a grin. _Yes, that will do _very _nicely._

Downstairs, Erica was glancing at some of Tyler's old drawings. She remembered Tyler and May sitting at the kitchen table, scrap paper and bits of crayon everywhere. That was where the similarity ended. Her son loved crayons, sometimes eating them when they got too short. Her daughter preferred colored pencils, saying they weren't as messy. Tyler's drawings were simple, scribbles of people, animals, cars, and airplanes. Everything most boys were interested in, in other words. May's drawings on the other hand, were neither simplistic nor mostly scribbles. It was one of these drawings that Erica was looking at now, of a device called a Stargate. She usually pulled it out when she felt down, idly entertaining the idea of living on another planet. After a minute May came downstairs and grabbed the car keys. Getting a look of confusion from her mother she explained, "You need to get out of the house."

* * *

><p>Fed up with the constant noise, Adria locked everyone out of the house and sent them across the street.<p>

"Meditation requires solitude and silence, until you leave I have neither!" she explained through the window before shutting and locking it. Daniel grumbled angrily but allowed Sam to drag him across the street, where Erica's car was parked in their driveway. He glanced at Sam in confusion and was answered with a shrug.

"Maybe she wants to talk."

"Maybe."

* * *

><p>After Daniel fixed a week's worth of coffee for everyone, Erica began, "I was looking at some of Tyler's old drawings, at how simple they were, and comparing them to May's." She pulled out an old file folder and placed it on the table. She continued after a drink of coffee, "May drew these when she was little. This one," and here she removed the oldest, the Stargate, and slid it to the middle of the table, "After having a vivid dream about a flying armored pyramid getting blown up via nuclear weapon. I knew she'd never seen either of those things on TV, because her viewing habits were restricted to Nick Jr. She described it as an interstellar portal and said you could visit other planets with the right combination of seven glyphs."<p>

Daniel carefully reached for the drawing as the implications hit him like a ton of bricks. The Gate had already been dialed, and out to the side was Earth's address, a date, and a trio of titles. Two had been erased, and Daniel asked if she'd called it anything before "Stargate".

"She had a couple names in mind. I liked Astria Porta, then she said something I couldn't pronounce."

"Chappa'ai?" Vala offered, impressed with the attention to detail. From a four-year-old who hadn't seen a Stargate yet no less.

An odd expression crossed Erica's face, "I think so."

_Oh great . . ._ Daniel thought.

Cameron whistled, "Well, that's . . . impressive."

Jack stared at the drawing and felt his stomach drop. This one drawing, dated from before Daniel adopted May, could get a lot of people fired. Given the times they'd been screwed over, this one took the cake.

Hoping to steer the conversation out of dangerous territory, Janet inquired, "Are all of her drawings this detailed?"

Erica didn't answer, observing Daniel with narrowed eyes. He looked like a suspect on the verge of cracking. Come to think of it, all of them looked like that. Except Teal'c, whose expression never changed much, and Vala, who was difficult to get a read on anyway.

Assuming her interrogation mode, Erica asked the room in general, "So, have you seen something like this before?"

Daniel groaned. With Erica aware their cover story was just that (and he was honestly surprised it had lasted this long), they really should have seen this coming. That, and the FBI Agent had pulled together a small group that did more damage to Anna in a few weeks than the military forces of the world combined, a fact Vala was quick to remind them of at every opportunity. He could already hear the reaction of the Sirian High Council, something else Vala was quick to remind them of at every opportunity.

Vala's voice startled him, "Well don't just sit there Daniel, tell her!"

"Tell me what?"

Ignoring Erica for the time being, Daniel looked at Vala and snapped, "Why?"

Vala sighed and answered in a condescending tone, as though talking to a child, "Well for starters, she and I are practically in-laws." She continued louder before Daniel could protest, "And Erica's under the protection of Stargate Command."

"She wasn't supposed to know that!" Daniel hissed. Vala just stared at him before shaking her head, "I agree with May; you can't keep it a secret forever. That and everybody knows that other races exist anyway, there's no better way to get a planet's attention than placing ships over large important cities . . ."

Great. Vala had doomed them all, and May had thrown them to the wolves - well, wolf.

* * *

><p>May was quiet when she entered the house, knowing Adria was trying to meditate. Rather than disturb her, she pulled a book off the shelf and began to read, barely noticing the rising temperature. Upstairs, Adria opened one eye, scanning the room for the cause of the sudden chill. Observing wisps of turquoise energy floating through the open doorway, she calmed herself and closed her eye. Solitude and silence were good; May's presence downstairs, though optional, was better.<p>

Half an hour later, May closed the book and headed upstairs. Peering into Adria's bedroom, she found her kneeling on a large pillow next to the window. May leaned against the doorframe and observed, noting how the sunlight played across her hair, her slow, even breathing, . . . why was her face flushed?

"Why are you staring?" Adria retorted, opening one eye and giving May a half-smile. She leaned to the left and pulled another large pillow next to hers. "Sit."

Grinning, the Ilva joined her, leaning into her side. Not exactly a productive meditation atmosphere, but perfect for cuddling.

"When was the last time we were alone?" Adria murmured, threading her fingers through May's red hair.

"When you taught me how to use my powers." Was her reply, a breeze tousling the curtains. "Of course, everybody knew where to find you in case there was an emergency or they found a planet full of unbelievers."

Adria winced. Leading an army on a cross-galactic religious crusade did no favors for her social life. And while May quickly mastered her abilities, hoping to use the rest of the time to talk, it wasn't long before a soldier showed up, or a Prior, or the ship landed . . . or Daniel came looking for now, if they were alone for more than ten minutes Daniel came looking. Everyone else was getting fed up with it.

May nipped at Adria's neck, the which she retaliated with a soft hiss and a gentle shove to the side. Rocking backward, May pulled Adria down with her and continued to nibble her neck. She whined when Adria pulled away, only to be silenced by the feeling Adria's lips against her own, impatient, insistent, demanding. She responded eagerly, nibbling her bottom lip. Adria growled and, with a hitherto unknown dexterity, flipped them both onto the bed, she on top and a squirming May beneath her. Their faces were flushed, eyes dark, not that anyone would see through the curtain of Adria's hair. Her dark curls now fell to mid back, and May loved running her fingers through it.

"Why are you on top?" she whined while Adria's nose skimmed down her neck and over her collar bone.

Adria chose not to reply, preferring instead to stare at May with smoldering eyes.

"Cheater." May grumbled, attempting to throw her off. Unfortunately her slight build worked against her, allowing Adria to hold her down with relative ease until her weak attempt at struggling ceased. May seemed perfectly content to let Adria have her way with her, lying limp and still until she felt Adria's teeth pierce the skin on her shoulder.

_Maybe I shouldn't have worn a tank top today._ She thought, hissing in pain. Adria's tongue soothed the bite somewhat, but to the amusement of the Orici, May asked her to kiss it better. The request was intentionally misinterpreted, and it was a while before either came up for air. Sometime later, clothing became a hassle.

* * *

><p>"You wanna run that by me again?" a pissed off Erica demanded, crossing her arms and pretending not to see Vala nearly doubled over in laughter. The former thief was very familiar with this expression having seen it used many times, most of them against Hobbes, and this expression was followed with, "So you're telling me that my daughter's been in almost constant danger since Daniel became her legal guardian?"<p>

At this point Vala lost her battle against gravity and hit the floor laughing. Alternating between glaring at her, the rest of his team, Janet, and upward in general (in case Orlithe was watching), Daniel stepped forward and began, again, "All humans can trace their origins back to a race called the Alterans. Like any young race, the Alterans coexisted peacefully at first, working and living together without conflict. Now at some point a large group of Alterans called the Ori turned to religion, presumably to find answers to, and I cannot believe I'm about to say this, life, the universe, and everything."

Somewhere above them, Orlithe snorted in amusment. Giving the ceiling a dark glare, Daniel kept going, "Attempting to answer the same questions, a small group of Alterans called the Ancients turned to science, while a middle group called the Ilvar turned to nature, living apart from the other two groups. Over time, the conflict between the Ancients and the Ori worsened until the Ori tried to kill them. The Ancients left for the Milky Way and settled on a planet called Dakara. When the Ilvar heard about what happened, they wondered if it was their fault, if the absence of a neutral party had allowed the conflict to escalate. So half of them followed the Ancients and the other half stayed with the Ori. Sometime later, the Ancients moved from Dakara to Earth, which they called Terra, and used it as a reference for Stargates. They used the constellations that can be viewed from Earth as the basis for the Dialing devices' coordinate system. Sometime after that they formed an alliance with the three most advanced races of the time, the Asgard, the Furlings and the Nox."

At this point Jack interrupted, "The Nox are peaceful short people with Troll hair. No we've never met the Furlings. The Asgard look like little grey aliens with all this cool technology. They started cloning themselves so they could live longer. Didn't work out so well."

"The Ori still had a bone to pick with the Ancients, so they sent a plague to our galaxy, and the Ancients left for the Pegasus galaxy in a city-ship called Atlantis." Daniel continued.

The snort they heard this time was one of derision. Daniel pretended not to hear that, "Before the Ancients left for Pegasus, they restarted human life in this galaxy, and that second evolution, us, evolved here. When the Ancients got to Pegasus they seeded that galaxy with human life too, built a Stargate network there, and settled down for a few million years. Then the Wraith showed up, overwhelmed most of Pegasus, and the Ancients, known by this point as the Lanteans, returned to the Milky Way. Years of evolution later, the three groups Ascended-"

"They what?" Erica interrupted and Daniel once again reminded himself that Erica was for all intents and purposes a civilian.

"Ascension is a point in evolution where the consciousness becomes pure energy and rises to a higher plane of existence. Once the Ori had Ascended, they created a race of humans to follow Origin, a religion which depicted them as gods, and they tried to destroy anything threatening that image; writings, pieces of technology, anything the Ancients left behind. The followers of Origin were required to give up their free will, and the Ori used that faith-based power to get stronger. Now the Ancients didn't agree with that so they adopted a strict non-interference policy with regards to the lower plains. The Ilvar didn't agree with either policy and interfered as needed, like keeping the Ori from becoming too powerful, or preventing the Goa'uld from dominating the galaxy. Which brings up to our next topic." He concluded, indicating somebody else should start talking so Erica's glare would focus on somebody else.

Jack took pity on Daniel and began, "Goa'ulds are snakes that need host bodies and have this crazy belief that they're gods. They formed the High Council of System Lords and ruled the galaxy for thousands of years, using different hosts. They started off using the Unas, tried and failed to use the Sirians as hosts, and then Ra shows up here, decides humans make great hosts, and let other snakeheads have access to us. They used the Stargate to take humans to other planets to use as slaves. Some of these humans were turned into Jaffa," here he gestured to Tealc, "who were basically incubators for little snakes. About 3000 BC, we rebel against Ra, send him and his servants packing, and bury the Stargate."

Sam took over for him, explaining the mission to Abydos, Ra's death, and the formation of various teams in response to the threat of Apophis and other Goa'uld, compressing eight years of fighting the System Lords into about half an hour. After finishing his second cup of coffee, Daniel began again, "Now in 2006, thanks to a Long Distance Communication Device and, as May so nicely puts it, Vala's greed and my inability to shut up, we alerted the Ori to the existence of humans in the Milky Way. So they sent Priors, evolved humans with near-Ascended abilities, which I will get to later," this was said in response to Erica tilting her head in confusion. "Where was I?"

"The Priors." Sam replied.

"Right, the Priors. The Priors were sent to our galaxy to spread Origin, starting with agrarian-level societies and the Jaffa, who had just overthrown the Goa'uld and weren't at all willing to bow to another set of false gods. Then the Ori attempted to have a Supergate, a giant Stargate, built here, which Vala managed to destroy by taking a ship and ramming it into the Gate during the dialing sequence. She was transported to the Ori galaxy and around nine months later she contacts us and tells us she's pregnant, has no idea how that happened, and to make things worse the Ori have another working Supergate and they're ready to send ships through. We gathered our allies and went to confront them, and lost. I managed to ring aboard an Ori ship where Vala told me that the Ori had impregnated her and were going to use the child to lead their armies."

Erica's expression became one of understanding, "Adria."

Daniel nodded, "Adria. She was an adult within days and had full mastery of her powers."

"What powers?"

"Uh, well, she could read minds, use telekinesis, heal people-"

"Bring back the dead if they hadn't been dead very long." Vala interjected.

"Pyrokenesis, and some form of genetic memory." Daniel finished.

Erica whistled, "Impressive pedigree. What about my daughter?"

Daniel was thrown by the change in subject, "Um, what about her?"

"During Red Sky she was so sick she couldn't get out of bed. Whenever I went to check on her I could see her changing before my eyes and there was nothing I could do to help. Her complexion paled, her ears turned pointed, she lost weight . . . After Red Sky I managed to get a blood sample to Sid for analysis. He said she was evolving, that, most of her DNA resembled her mother's."

That's what Janet was afraid of. She'd noticed May's DNA advancing over a span of years, to the point she was more Ilvar than human. A second possibility struck her then. What if May's power was too much for her physical body? What if she was aware of this on some level and subconsciously preparing to Ascend?

"What was Cassidy? She wasn't human but was genetically close enough to have a child with one." Erica demanded.

Daniel swallowed audibly and strove to ignore Orlithe's chuckling. Outside the wind picked up.

"Uh . . . Cassidy was an Ascended Ilvar who retook human form and married my second cousin Richard. So May's a hybrid too."

Sam excused herself to grab a snack. She casually glanced out the window on her way to the cabinet and stopped, retracing her steps. The yard across the street was a bright healthy green, and there was a weird light coming from one of the upstairs windows. "What the?"

Erica leaned against the back of the couch and considered what she'd learned. The subject of Adria was a troubling one; if she interpreted her daughter's feelings correctly then May was in love with a murderer. Disturbing as that was, Erica decided to come back to it later, tuning back in to the conversation long enough to hear Vala snap, "She did change Daniel, she's not the ultimate incarnation of evil. You're just mad that she was . . . _interested_, in May and there wasn't anything you could do about it."

Daniel's face turned an unattractive shade of red, and there was no doubt in Erica's mind that Vala had emphasized the word interested on purpose.

"Is he still going on about that?" Sam shouted from the kitchen. Daniel's sense of self-preservation kicked in when she entered the room looking pissed off. She took one look at his guilty face and roared, "Teal'c!"

"Yes ColonelCarter?" Teal'c asked, amused.

Sam wordlessly pointed to the team's archeologist. The Jaffa seized Daniel's upper arms and marched him into the kitchen. Erica swore she heard him say, "You are doomed DanielJackson."

Cameron and Jack started laughing until they caught sight of Janet. Deciding to end this once and for all, she gave them their marching orders, "Get in there. Now."

Jack bolted with Cam a close second.

"Coming Vala?"

Vala waved her off, "I'm going outside."

I'll come with you." Erica offered, barely getting the door shut behind her when the yelling started. The two walked down the sidewalk until Erica broke the silence, "Interested how?"

Vala grinned widely, "I think it began as curiosity," here she lowered her voice, "Since they have one human parent and one Alteran parent. Over time that curiosity changed into something . . . more. She doesn't really talk about it, but she holds a lot of affection for May. Of course with Daniel around they can't do much more than cuddle, and even that isn't enough these days." She sighed theatrically.

"How did they meet?" Erica continued. If what she'd been told was true, May likely wouldn't be allowed off-world often, if at all.

"I haven't known her as long as Daniel has, but from what I've heard it was hard being stuck on base for ten years. They were a bit overprotective. So when I show up, telling her about all these planets I've been to, Daniel starts worrying about May. He tries to head off a long-overdue escape attempt by letting her come with us on the _Odyssey_ when we went to check out this planet that had been converted to Origin before the Dakara super-weapon took it out. And there we were, on an empty Ori warship, May invisible in a corner, and then some Jaffa came in and told us they'd taken the ship. Adria didn't agree with that, so she used her powers to kill them. And for the rest of the trip, she kept looking at May but May avoided eye contact and she couldn't stop blushing . . ."

Erica listened as Vala jabbered on, a fountain of uncensored information that she wouldn't be able to get out of Daniel.

* * *

><p>Onboard the New York Mothership . . .<p>

It had been a long rough week for Diana. She silently paced the Executive Suite, mentally running down a list of things which had to be done, and the progress on each. She wanted to Bliss the Vs, thus reassuring them and ensuring their loyalty to her and her alone. The reasons this was impossible were twofold. Some of her children had developed emotion and dropped off the grid in fear of their own survival. That and the Bliss chamber itself was broken. According to Marcus, there were cracks in the walls and the amplifiers around the room gave off sparks. Thankfully her own children seemed happy about her return to power; Anna's children seemed loyal for the time being. She had already met with the Captains of the other ships, ordered progress reports from all active sleeper agents, and brought her daughter's experiments to a halt. The humans were aware of the shift in power, so Diana released a statement, via Chad Decker, apologizing for the lack of introduction and promising a press conference as soon as possible.

"Send me Joshua." She ordered one of the guards standing just outside the room.

"Yes my Queen."

Joshua arrived five minutes later. "You wanted to see me my Queen?"

Diana was silent for a minute, contemplating the skyline. "I did Joshua. How strong is your grasp of human emotion?"

There was a long pause before he answered, "I, experience them."

"You misunderstand me Joshua. How strong are the bonds between parents and their children? Between siblings?"

Joshua looked rather uncomfortable. Diana turned to face him at last and explained, "The reason I ask is because of Erica Evans."

"Tyler's mother?"

She nodded, "A week ago her son died aboard my ship. I wish to contact Erica and offer my condolences as well as discuss where our two species go from here."

Joshua gave it some honest thought. After a few minutes of silence he began, "Each human experiences grief differently. They may feel disbelief, anger, or depression, but with enough love and support from those around them a grieving human can accept their loss and move on. Agent Evans has lost both her husband and her son in a short space of time, and such losses are devastating. Similarly, Miss Lamont has lost both father and brother and is possibly feeling the same."

Diana raised an eyebrow, "Possibly?"

"According to Tyler, he and May weren't siblings by blood but by adoption. At the age of eight May's guardianship was transferred to a paternal third cousin. It's likely that as they grew up they grew apart, and as a result weren't as close when May returned despite Tyler's repeated attempts to include her in various activities."

"Perhaps our arrival drove a permanent wedge between them?"

"It is possible." Joshua admitted with a shrug.

Marcus reentered the room and Diana continued, "While on the subject of Tyler, I came across something unusual. The twenty-nine boys my daughter considered breeding candidates all had a strange gene." She pulled up the screen and highlighted the gene in question. "I am unsure of its function. Joshua do you have a sample for analysis?"

"I kept some of Rafael's blood in stasis my Queen, and a few of Tyler's hairs. Will that suffice?"

"That will do Joshua."

"Thank you my Queen."

"Anna also developed a disturbing fixation on Miss Lamont, to the point she was narrowing down a list of soldiers to breed with her."

Marcus actually looked concerned. Joshua looked faintly sick.

"What were your impressions of Miss Lamont?"

Ever the yes-V, Marcus replied first, "She behaves like a coiled viper; alert to her surroundings and ready to strike at any time."

Joshua could honestly say he hadn't interacted with her enough to form an opinion. He did however offer a short comment, "Lisa seems strongly attuned to her, especially when aided by her breeding skin."

Diana squeezed her eyes shut. _Oh no._

"And, how is Lisa this morning?"

"She did not acknowledge my presence when I took her breakfast. I don't think she's spoken since Tyler's death . . . she just lays there."

Diana wondered if there was a stress ball on the ship somewhere. She honestly hadn't meant to forget about Lisa, but given her previous independence, well Diana didn't think she needed companionship. (The derisive snort from somewhere above her head was ignored.) Thoughts of her granddaughter were soon pushed aside in favor of more pressing concerns. One of Anna's children, whose name Diana couldn't recall at the moment, had just entered the room and handed something to Marcus, whose expression went from one of general apathy to one of concern to the V equivalent of "oh-god-oh-god-we're-all-gonna-die." Three expressions in as many seconds; a personal record for Marcus. Joshua grinned in amusement.

"My Queen, scroll 973 is missing."

A feeling of great unease stole through Diana, "What are the contents of scroll 973?"

"Scroll 973 details the Ring my Queen, of how we used it to exile rebels and its theft by the threvast."

Diana said nothing, merely felt around for a chair. "Is there any way to track the scroll?"

"No my Queen."

Not for the first time, Diana cursed the arrogance of her daughter. Anna assumed any species they encountered would be so filled with awe and respect they wouldn't _dream_ of stealing such technology.

"Do either of you know the last V who _had_ the scroll?"

Marcus shook his head, and it was all Diana could do not to kill him. If the information of scroll 973 fell into the wrong hands, it could be disastrous for all involved. The last thing they needed was humans learning of the threvast. And with her luck scroll 973 was already in human hands. With that not-so-comforting thought on her mind, she sent Joshua a desperate look. He was deep in thought, and after a minute remembered the last day of empathy tests.

"The day Lisa failed the empathy test, she borrowed the scroll."

Given Lisa's behavior since Tyler's death, Diana knew merely asking the question was a bad idea. Lisa was displaying unusual signs of aggression, like growling at those who brought her food, but if the scroll was in her possession, then it was likely in her room. Diana's relief was short lived when Joshua continued, "She gave it to Miss Lamont. I saw the end of it sticking out of her bag."

_And now I must scream._ This was probably the worst place for any piece of V tech to be, especially if Miss Lamont felt the Vs had either A) personally wronged her, or B) wronged her family. Honestly, Diana wasn't sure which option was worse.

Instead of dealing with that issue, she changed the subject, "Marcus, the threvast Supreme System Lord called himself Ra did he not? Is not Ra the Egyptian sun god?"

Marcus had no idea. He glanced at Joshua who merely shrugged.

"I don't know."

Sighing, Diana turned and pulled up a screen to double-check the information.

"In 3,000 B.C.E., a small group of humans rebelled against Ra, and buried their Ring to prevent his return by any means but ship travel. While such a display is heartening, it could also be dangerous." Diana faced Marcus and Joshua again before going on, "It was a small and isolated group of humans who overthrew Ra. Today's humans are more intelligent, more aware of their surroundings, and more connected to other humans. I don't know how they'll react to the knowledge my daughter is no longer in power, much less that she was deceiving them. It could turn all of humanity against us. We would be driven from this world like the threvast before us" Her voice had trailed off.

Curious, Joshua asked, "Is it possible the humans found their Ring and got it working again?"

"I'm sure it's possible Joshua. The Giza ship took scans from high orbit and found no trace of a Ring."

"But are humans capable of understanding this technology my Queen? They have advanced since the days of Ra's rule, but not enough to have mastered interstellar travel." Joshua continued.

Diana sighed. Humans _had_ come far since their rebellion, and their technology was impressive for a planet-bound species, but Diana wasn't sure if they were able to understand the intricate workings of the Ring. It was likely their military had stored it in a warehouse in hopes that it couldn't be reverse-engineered and used against them. It was probably better that way. After a moment Marcus spoke and Diana shook herself.

"I have the information you requested my Queen."

The screen displayed May Lamont's third grade school picture and a sense of doom fell upon Joshua. As Marcus had said, May was a viper, and only an absolute _idiot_ provoked a viper.

Responding to the expression on Joshua's face – part horror and part disbelief – she explained, "Anna never acted without reason, save for the night she released Red Sky. She prides herself on her ability to find information on any human being, to learn their routines and predict their behavior based on them. The same cannot be said for Miss Lamont." She turned to Marcus and gestured for him to begin.

"We were able to find complete records for Richard Jackson, May's birth father, but her birth mother Cassidy Lamont was more difficult. The only lead we found was that she belonged to an extinct branch of Clan Lamont-"

"How long was this branch extinct?"

"About 20 years or so."

"Convenient."

Marcus continued undeterred, "After the death of her birth parents, the Evans family adopted her. Four years later her guardianship was transferred to one Dr. Daniel Jackson, an archeologist and a linguist."

That name sounded familiar. "Uncle?"

"Third cousin."

Diana blinked. Humans were such complicated creatures.

"Several of our sleeper agents had come across Dr. Jackson's theories on the pyramids. He believed they were much older than humans thought, and that it wasn't humans who built them at all. He cites similar structures in other parts of the world as proof of cross-pollination of ancient cultures and theorized that Egyptian pyramids were landing sites for alien spaceships."

Diana felt the blood drain from her face. Collapsing into a chair, she managed to croak, "What, what did we do?"

Joshua vanished in search of a glass of water and Marcus waited for him to return. When he eventually did, the Chief Medical Officer was pushing a cart not unlike one from the Medical Bay, but loaded with food instead. After a couple sandwiches (swallowed whole) and a large glass of ice water, Diana glanced at Marcus who picked up where he left off, "We didn't have to do anything. Human scholars laughed him out of academia since they felt he had no proof."

The old Queen breathed a sigh of relief. The humans _could_ have discovered the threvast, but tended to put stock in whatever theory seemed most likely and ignore other possibilities. Crisis averted.

"It's a shame," she commented, sipping from the glass, "That such a brilliant mind went to waste. At least no one believed him."

Marcus shared a nervous glance with Joshua before going on, "After his grants ran out and he was evicted from his apartment, he was offered a job by the Air Force."

Diana snorted, then the comment sunk in. If Dr. Jackson had been hired by the Air Force, then someone must have believed him. Archeologists and linguists were certainly common enough.

"Why did they hire him?"

"The official reason was to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics."

Diana frowned. Ancient history wasn't the forte of human military. Deciding she would come back to that, she returned to the issue of Miss Lamont.

"I suppose Dr. Jackson had contingency plans in case he was no longer able to care for Miss Lamont? Who does he list as next of kin?"

Marcus had half a sandwich in his mouth so Joshua answered for him, "Lieutenant General Jonathan O'Neill, Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter, or a Mister Teal'c Murray. If none were available she would return to Agent Evans."

The old Queen nodded to herself and decided she could deal with Miss Lamont when she contacted Agent Evans. Speaking of, "Joshua, how should I contact Agent Evans?"

Marcus reached for another sandwich as Joshua replied, "Perhaps a letter."

"A what?"

As Joshua explained what letters meant to humans, specifically how a hand written letter could mean more than a phone call or an email, it dawned on him that Diana's penmanship was either horrible or nonexistent, and he wondered if he could get Marcus to teach her how. Sadly, Marcus couldn't write either, at least not very well, so Joshua decided to offer his assistance.

"Thank you Joshua." Diana managed to say before a crack of thunder caused her to drop the glass. Marcus started choking behind him and Joshua had to give him the Heimlich before asking if someone could come in and clean up the mess.

Diana checked the weather report, confused by the suddenness of the storm. Marcus drank straight from the pitcher to clear his throat before asking, "Odd weather isn't it?"

"A very sudden summer storm." Diana agreed, watching the lights of the city flicker. "Have someone monitor this in case we need to offer assistance. Joshua, if you have some spare time I'd like to start my writing lessons."

"Of course my Queen."

**More of a filler than anything, sorry. Once I noticed that this chapter was nearing 40 pages I thought, "Geez that's long. I think I'll split it up." So I did. The next chapter will be the last one I think. Anna gets what's coming to her, and Erica _actually goes through the Stargate_! **


	22. Chapter 22

**Major Simi: 538 V ships on par with Goa'uld Ha'tak vs. the Tau'ri fleet. Great numbers vs. high tech. I do wonder who would win that fight . . .**

**Greetings Hazel R and skarosianlifeform. Hope you're enjoying it.**

**Hello again Animal Kingdom. Glad you like my story so much.**

**Thanks for the love Kmon13! Your list of favorite stories is impressive. Might I recommend kyaru-chan's **_**Harveste**_** series?**

A drenched Vala and Erica stomped into the mud room, the latter with a loud sneeze. Sam met them with a couple towels while Janet flipped on the weather channel. In the three hours before the storm let up, Teal'c explained the role the Visitors played in galactic history, namely their use of the Stargate to exile rebels, how those rebels spent generations preparing to return and overthrow the queen's reign for good, how Ba'al had attempted to use the Vs as hosts, failed miserably, and made off with their Stargate. Once the exiles learned about Ba'al's theft, they had turned their rage upon the System Lords. Armed with animal instinct and human reason, the Sirians trounced the Jaffa every time they met in combat, targeting anyone or anything with a symbiote. It wasn't until May explained the difference between the host and the symbiote that they understood, eventually coming to an agreement with Stargate Command.

"So the Sirians don't like the Visitors, and now that the System Lords have been abolished the exiles will start looking for the Vs again?" Erica asked.

Nervous looks were exchanged.

"They hate the Queen and her children with a passion." Jack replied, arms behind his head as he reclined.

"But they don't have ships. At least, not to our knowledge." Sam continued, another crack of thunder making everyone jump.

* * *

><p>A drowsy Adria awoke to the sound of a gentle rain and the sight of May, her Ilva, her <em>mate<em>, sleeping next to her. Making a soft sound of contentment, Adria wrapped both arms around her and nuzzled her cheek and neck, careful not to wake her. A sleepy whine answered her and May snuggled closer. The sound of rain was soothing to Adria, almost soothing enough to go back to sleep, but she resisted. Instead she watched May, brushing an errant red curl from her eyes. May's nose twitched and she sneezed.

"Wake up Caela Gemma." Adria murmured softly, pleased when a pair of sleepy turquoise eyes met her own.

"Hmm?" May cleared her throat and blinked away the drowsiness. After glancing at Adria's expression she asked sarcastically, "Really Tenebris?"

"I am satisfied. For now." Adria assured her, glancing over May's blanket-covered body.

"Eyes up here Adria."

Adria's gaze returned to May's, completely unapologetic. "We should get dressed."

May started to protest, but a kiss from Adria silenced her.

"Cheater."

Adria raised an eyebrow, "Cheater? I seem to recall you flipping us so you were on top and holding me down with nothing but the look in your eyes!"

May nuzzled Adria's cheek, "You didn't mind."

It was Adria's turn to whine; the things this girl could do to her.

"Wonder what Daniel will say?"

"He'll be angry and likely hate me for 'stealing your purity'." Adria replied, her genuine laughter making the Ilva melt. "He might not be happy with you either, considering you returned the favor."

May's eyes were wide with concern, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. Really May, I'm fine, I promise. What about you, are you alright?"

"I'm still tired Adria."

Adria smiled, "I know you are, but with the storm letting up we'll have company soon and I'd rather face Daniel with some semblance of decency." Her eyes flicked in the direction of the other house, "They're crossing the street."

May muttered something under her breath, painstakingly smoothing the wrinkles out of clothes via telekinesis while Adria fixed her hair. Pronouncing the other presentable, the two girls sat on the couch and turned on the TV. The Ilva snuggled into Adria's side, feeling warm fingers caressing her shoulder. At some point in the throes of passion, Adria had bitten her hard enough to draw blood. May remembered screaming and wasn't sure if it was due to pleasure or pain. Warmth flowed into her skin, healing the marks Adria's teeth had left behind.

Daniel's first reaction upon seeing their intimate position was to frown. Sam cleared her throat, reminding Daniel of the long argument they'd just had.

Adria didn't like Daniel's scrutiny, pulling May closer and glaring at him, her fingers brushing over the not-quite-healed bite. Her sudden stiffness was enough to draw Adria's attention, along with everyone else's.

A quick telepathic exchange was enough for Adria to loosen her grip. Unaware of this, Erica asked, "Are you okay Honey?"

"I'm fine Mom." May replied, squeezing Adria's hand. Feeling the pressure on her hand increase, she turned to Adria and said, "Patience Tenebris. And don't look at me like that."

Adria's eyes flared yellow. Pulling May to her, she kissed her right in front of everyone, shocking everyone but Vala into immobility. Daniel made a strangled sound in his throat as Sam said, "We knew this day was coming Daniel."

"Get a room!" Jack suggested jokingly.

Adria pulled away with a victorious expression. May's glassy eyes and goofy smile were so out of place it worried Erica, and that worry went through the roof when Adria answered Jack with, "We just left one."

Daniel's face turned a shade of red that bordered on purple, the thought _This can't be happening_ running through his head like a mantra. Erica finally managed to file everything she'd heard in a "deal with later" category and pull May aside, with some difficulty, and attempt to set some limits on the relationship, clearly expecting Vala to do the same. Vala just winked at Adria and said, "Don't let her get away."

"You're joking right?" she replied.

* * *

><p>Dinner was later and quieter than normal. Eventually Erica broke the silence, "What now?"<p>

What now indeed. Jack explained that there wasn't really a procedure for mass alien infiltration, nor was there a procedure for dealing with those same aliens once they were under new management. In fact most of the time the plan for dealing with a possible invasion consisted of heading it off before civilian technology picked up on it or coming up with a passable cover story, earning him a dark glare from May and angry muttering in Alteran. Daniel pretended he didn't see Adria squeeze May's hand and respond in kind. Once the two girls had slipped out, the others moved into the living room.

"Hey Daniel?"

"What is it Vala?"

"Those nicknames Adria and May have for each other, what do they mean?"

All eyes turned to linguist, who had no choice but to explain, "Tenebris is Alteran for darkness, while Angela, obviously, means angel. So Tenebris Angela is either Angel of Darkness or simply Dark Angel, probably a joke about Adria's belief that the Ori were gods."

"Wouldn't that make her a demigoddess?" Erica asked.

Daniel winced, "Technically, yes."

"What about May? Kala Jimmy or whatever it was?" Vala continued.

"Gemma is jewel or gem, Caela is Alteran for heaven or sky. So Caela Gemma is sky gem or jewel of heaven."

"I think it's sweet." Erica commented.

"Dark Angel and Sky Jewel. I like it." Jack said.

"Jewel of heaven." Daniel corrected him. Jack rolled his eyes. Erica rose and shouted up the stairs, "May? Time to go!"

"In a minute Mom!" May shouted back, rubbing Adria's arms.

"If you keep that up it will be much longer than a minute."

"I doubt you'd mind."

The fire returned to Adria's eyes but May averted her gaze. A faint sense of shame took root in May's mind, prompting Adria to say something, "Do you regret it?"

"No! No . . . I think it would have happened anyway, but . . ."

"You don't think it's right for you to be happy while your mother grieves." Adria concluded, pulling May into her arms. "Know what I think?"

May shook her head.

"I think SG-1 did their best to raise you in a manner they found appropriate, but occasionally forgot you were a child, not a soldier."

May clung to her and Adria continued in a softer voice, "You don't have to be strong all the time. Let me be the strong one, so you can be vulnerable. Alright?"

"Okay."

Smiling, Adria kissed her.

Daniel opened the door about then, "May, Erica's leav-HEY!"

Adria glared at him while May nipped her neck.

"Te amo Tenebris."

"Te amo Caela."

The sudden "Awww" from Vala surprised no one.

"Goodnight." Adria whispered.

"Goodnight." May whispered back, hissing at Daniel as she went downstairs.

* * *

><p>Daniel's murderous glare didn't bother Adria at all. She stared evenly back, appearing perfectly calm, but he could see the faintest hint of fire in her eyes. He wondered if she would feel so confidant if Teal'c, Jack and Cam weren't holding him back, but then he remembered the pendant around her neck that could stop everything short of an Ascended's destructive energy form.<p>

While Daniel continued to snort like a raging bull, Sam was glancing from him to Adria to Vala and back. Vala had a Zat in hand, ready to fire if Daniel somehow broke loose, while Adria was beginning to tense up, perhaps in response to Daniel's thoughts. Vala was convinced Adria could level the city with little effort, and while Sam thought she was exaggerating she did agree a loss of temper on Adria's part could cause untold destruction and draw unneeded attention.

So she needed to think logically, or at least keep Daniel's attention long enough for Janet to administer a sedative.

First question: What happened?

Actually she had a pretty good idea what happened; May and Adria had been left alone for three hours. Adria's blatant display of affection coupled with the bite mark on May's shoulder made the half-Ori's intentions clear: she'd claimed May as hers. Jack's attempt to tease May had backfired horribly; by Adria's own admission they had been intimate and judging from May's head-in-the-clouds expression Sam doubted she'd heard a word Jack said anyway.

Daniel's growl brought Sam back to Earth, a quick glance toward the couch proved that yes, there was a hint of a smirk on Adria's face.

Sam briefly considered reprimanding her, but brushed it off as Adria being Adria.

Second question: How was everyone else taking this?

Daniel looked ready to kill Adria with his bare hands and angry that such a task was beyond him while Vala was ready to fire the Zat at any time. Jack and Cam had their backs turned, Teal'c was too focused on Daniel, and Janet was in the kitchen. As for her personally . . .

Daniel's complete lack of experience with kids paired with Jack and Teal'c's sons meant Sam became May's de facto mother figure, the person to whom she went for everything bar ancient Earth history, physical training, fishing, or hiding from some sort of test in the infirmary. Sam had fixed peanut butter sandwiches, broken toys, torn book pages, and explained many times why they couldn't build a T.A.R.D.I.S. in one of the empty labs. The first time she'd been close enough to Adria to interact with her, the half-Ori's comment about "the foolish hope of a little girl" had thrown Sam for a loop. For only a minute or so, she saw not a dangerous enemy but a child who was similar to May; both cut off from their birth parents, raised by people who were not blood relatives, and expected to behave a certain way. Thankfully living on the same ship with May had softened Adria's fiery temper. Call it maternal instinct, but Sam had always thought they would be good for each other if Adria ever left the Dark Side.

Third question: Now what?

Daniel had accepted the fact May was in a relationship with Adria, albeit grudgingly and after everyone else but Erica. Why would that change?

The most obvious answer was because the relationship had changed and Daniel didn't want to accept that.

_Okay that's reasonable. Finding out the kid you've raised just had sex with somebody you treated like an enemy is damn near impossible to accept the same day you acknowledge she's in a relationship. Looks like I'll have to go through the argument again._

Adria briefly glanced at her before returning her gaze to Daniel. It hurt her that he couldn't see past his own irrational anger, but she wouldn't give him that satisfaction. She opened her mind in an attempt to gauge the reactions of May's family, attempting to weld their thoughts into a semi cohesive whole. Of the members of SG-1, her mother, Samantha, Jack and Teal'c seemed supportive. Janet was too busy trying to find a sedative to pay much attention to what was going on, and Erica was too far away to get a read on. Not surprisingly, Daniel's mind was a tangle of incoherent rage.

Sam had just opened her mouth to begin with Teal'c beat her to it.

"We knew this day was coming as well DanielJackson." Teal'c intoned to the angry archeologist. Daniel growled again.

"Okay Daniel, let's try this again." Sam said, hearing the distant rumble of thunder and knowing Orlithe was not in a forgiving mood. "May's life at Stargate Command pretty much means any potential partner would have to work there because nobody on this planet is supposed to know about it and we can't just give IDCs to anyone offworld. Any time one of us makes an attempt at a relationship it either goes nowhere or ends in failure, am I right so far?"

Daniel nodded, cursing himself for never having a plan in place for this problem. They'd all assumed May would grow up and start expressing interest in the opposite sex; none of them had even considered a girlfriend until Sam cornered him in a hallway and explained May's crush on Adria. That raised more red flags in Daniel's mind than anything in the past decade. Fears that Adria was using her powers to influence May's emotions, manipulating his cousin's insecurities to her own ends ran rampant for all of five minutes before Sam shut him up and reminded him of the Ilvar. That knowledge made him breathe a little easier. Orlithe could be vicious on her own; threaten May and there was no force in the universe that would protect you.

Sam didn't want to ask, but she had to, "Is it because she's a woman?"

He shook his head; they'd come across cultures where such relationships were normal.

"The age difference?"

Again, Daniel shook his head; technically Adria acted older than her physical age due to the vast quantity of knowledge she possessed.

"The fact Adria's half Ori?"

Daniel thought about it before shaking his head. He'd seen memories of Ilvar-Ancient, Ilvar-Ori, and a few rare Ancient-Ori relationships as an Ascended.

Sam nodded to herself, _Of course._

"You're afraid May's replaced you."

That took Daniel by surprise, "Huh?"

Janet snickered from the kitchen as Sam continued, "It's perfectly normal to feel this way Daniel. For about ten years May depended on you and now that she has Adria you feel like she doesn't need you anymore."

Daniel stared at Sam with something akin to shock. Jack and Cam stepped away and shared a look of confusion.

"Daniel, May loves you. It's not like she was forced to be Adria's girlfriend. Partner. Whatever they are." Sam said, ignoring Daniel's I-was-just-force-fed-a-lemon expression.

"Mate." Adria supplied, secretly enjoying how quickly Daniel's face turned red.

"I didn't need to hear that." Sam muttered to herself. "Point is Daniel, May's old enough to understand that her actions have consequences, the Ilvar must approve because Adria's alive and in good health, and unless there's something really weird about their DNA, neither of them can get pregnant."

Vala snorted and Orlithe roared with laughter. Then Sam restated the point that killed all Daniel's arguments stone dead, "Adria makes May happy. If they're happy together then I'm all for it."

Daniel knew she was right, just as he knew it would take time to get used to the idea of May's relationship. And while he was sure the two wouldn't pounce on each other where he could see them, the glint in Adria's eyes meant she would see just how far those boundaries could be pushed.

* * *

><p>Around one in the morning, May teleported aboard <em>Dragon Ship Erebus<em>, the other ships having left to deliver Anna into the hands of the Sirian High Council. Erebus led her through the winding corridors and stopped in front of a rounded doorway, more like a hole in the wall, which led to the Medical Bay.

"_Healer Crystalfyre? Rasi May wants to talk to you._"

A sand-colored Sirian glanced up from her data pad before putting it aside.

May wasted no time, "_Healer Crystalfyre, what causes mindsplit?_"

Silence greeted this question. Cystalfyre cleared her throat and began, "_Mindsplit is commonly seen in those who have experienced great trauma. The instinctual part of the mind battles the reasoning part. In most cases it is instinct that wins out and the individual in question becomes feral._"

"_And how does one communicate with a feral?_"

The silence this time was so profound you could have heard a pin drop. Even Erebus looked surprised at the direction this conversation was heading.

"_Ferals . . ._" Crystalfyre trailed off, quickly downed a glass of water, and continued, "_Ferals are ruled by a strict hierarchy of dominance and submission. In order to communicate with them you need to establish a place in their hierarchy, be it real or existing in their heads only. Once you determine where you fall in said hierarchy, they might not accept you, but would at the very least respect you. However, even the most patient and experienced of our kind have difficulty dealing with ferals. We only understand so much of their behavior, they only understand so much of ours. Why do you ask?"_

"_Anna's daughter Lisa feels emotion. She was thrown in the dungeon and forced to watch my brother's murder. Now Diana has assumed power but is either too busy to pay attention to Lisa or is deliberately placing the needs of her species before her closest blood kin. I can help Lisa, but not if she's trying to kill me._"

A low growl filled the room and May caught a few profanities aimed specifically at Diana, plus one or two about Ba'al for causing this mess. After a few minutes she shook herself and asked May, "_Can you growl Rasi?_"

The guttural snarl startled Erebus into jumping backward and slamming his head into the doorway. Even Crystalfyre leaned away, nodding approvingly.

"_That should do._" She hissed with a nod. "_All the same, approach Lisa with caution, regardless of her mental state._"

May nodded and turned to leave.

"_And Rasi? Expect a missive from the Council and a quick plane ride back to Stargate Command in the not-so-distant future._"

May grinned.

Around the same time Earthside, Sam noticed the light was still on downstairs. Wondering who was still up, she grabbed her bathrobe and padded downstairs.

"Daniel?"

Daniel was sitting on the couch, staring unseeingly at the television. Upon hearing Sam's voice he jumped.

"You alright?"

"Not really." He replied, flopping back down on the couch. Sam sat in a recliner and waited for him to continue.

"Heck of a day wasn't it?" she asked after a minute.

"Yeah."

"Guess I understand what Orlithe meant when she said Erica already knew about the Stargate. I just didn't think she meant literally."

Daniel replied, "May foresaw Ra's death when she was _four_, saw how we did it, then drew a Stargate and told Erica how it worked." He put his face in his hands and said in a muffled voice, "And we just told her everything we've done at Stargate Command. Where _do_ we go from here Sam?"

"I don't know Daniel. Most people have accepted the Vs, meaning their governments were lying to them about aliens in general and hiding the evidence. Maybe we should come clean."

"Come clean about what?" a sleepy Jack asked, one hand on the stair rail and the other rubbing his eyes.

"Stargate Command." Daniel replied, staring at Sam as if she'd uttered some horrible blasphemy.

Jack's eyes shot open, "What?"

Sam's expression didn't change, prompting Jack to ask, "Why?"

"Well sir, if people can accept the Vs, maybe they would be open to the idea that there are others out there too."

Teal'c's reply startled everyone; they hadn't even heard him get up, "Because EricaEvans knows the truth, MayLamont doesn't need to lie about her past anymore."

Sam continued, "Remember when Daniel first Ascended? We had to keep explaining that she couldn't go home and she couldn't tell Erica what had happened, and we had to keep an eye on her all the time."

Daniel visibly cringed. By keeping May from calling Erica and basically smothering her they'd caused her no end of pain, and pissed off Orlithe who took it out on him. It took a long time for those wounds to heal.

Jack had been backed into a corner, not something he was comfortable with especially when May was involved, "Carter we can't do that. Okay sure, the world knows about aliens now, but all the aliens we know have been told why they can't just show up in their ships and say hi. The best we can do is make it clear to Diana to fix what Anna screwed up and then leave."

"And that would be fine sir, except for one thing." Sam said hesitantly.

Jack knew he wouldn't like the sound of that, "And, that is?"

"May's friendship with Lisa."

Oh _perfect_. "Friendship? I thought May couldn't stand her."

"She was on the right side in the end." Janet announced.

"Why don't we just invite Cam, Vala and Adria over and make it a party?" Jack asked, only half joking.

Daniel glared at him, "Jack please. Now every time I see her the first thing I'm gonna think of is she's been with my cousin."

"The LittleWarrior is no longer a child DanielJackson. She can take care of herself." Teal'c assured him. And Teal'c would know. He taught her how to wield a weapon.

They all went to bed soon after that.

* * *

><p>Erica had a strange dream that night. In a way she was grateful for the change; it meant for one night at least she was spared the nightmare of watching her son's throat get ripped out again. Instead she was watching from above as a group of human-looking figures traveled away from a large agrarian-looking town, wandering more or less in the same direction, towards a distant mountain range. They all wore hooded cloaks, led familiar looking animals, and pulled wooden carts, likely filled with possessions. The good-sized group eventually stopped, settling at the base of the foothills. Erica felt the sensation of years passing and watched these determined people build houses and barns, plowed fields, raised crops, livestock and children. Slowly the little collection of houses became more like a village, spreading out from a central point. Small booths for selling produce evolved into elaborate wooden stores. Children grew up, moved out, built homes and raised families of their own.<p>

Yet they didn't really advance. Wooden buildings remained the norm as the village became a town and later a city. They experimented with crops, cross breeding them, maybe hoping for hardier strains or better taste. They let their animals graze together and their children played together. At some point, small banners were erected in each house's front yard, containing a vaguely Celtic image and a runic set of words beneath them. There were easily recognizable symbols, animals, birds, fish, trees, flowers, even impressive sets of knot work. Some houses shared the same banner design, and it eventually clicked that the banners were family crests. Overall it looked like an Elvin city, unchanging except in size. Finally, after what felt like eons, something changed.

It started on the edges of the city with the children. Over the course of a few generations their skin grew light, then fair, then luminescent. Their eyes too changed color, spanning the rainbow from a blinding white to a black that seemed to suck in light. Their ears tapered to delicate points. As they grew older, their bodies became slim, lithe and spry, just like May. They complained of headaches, of feeling like there was too much information for their minds to hold. A few small groups left the city, returning with massive crystals of varying colors. The crystals were broken, cut, shaped, set into rings, bracelets, earrings, and pendants, all matching the eye color of the wearer. The crystal color was added to the background of each banner displaying its importance to the family within the larger clan. Again Erica got the impression of eons passing, when a streak of white burst through the roof of a small house on the edge of town.

_Ascension is a point in evolution where the consciousness becomes pure energy and rises to a higher plane of existence . . ._ That was what Daniel had said. So that white streak was an ascending being, and given that the Ilvar were the first Alteran faction to do so, it must be their culture she was observing. The Ascension itself was rather impressive, albeit destructive and scary as hell. There were several other Ascensions over the course of the year, and a few over the course of later decades. Then something really weird happened: the entire city Ascended as one.

The group of Ascended beings coalesced into a large and vivid aurora. Erica was almost positive her mouth was hanging open in awe. The aurora expanded in every direction as others joined it, filling the entire sky. Yet for the large number of Ascended, their mortal relatives outnumbered them still, seeming to delight in the guidance and protection they received from their kin against the increasingly fanatical Ori and increasingly withdrawn Ancients. Merely protecting them turned into blatant intervention in the form of razing a primitive Ori temple to the ground, but for the most part they encouraged their non-Ascended friends and relatives not to rise to the bait of the other two groups nor bait them in return. For the most part this didn't happen, as the Ilvar were a far cry from the other two Alteran factions, their looks too different, their minds too alien . . .

Eventually all of the Ilvar Ascended, receiving great knowledge and power and using both to revive the various worlds that could no longer support their inhabitants and terraforming others. This earned them the respect of both the Ancients and the Ori, although the latter's morphed into stalkerish hero-worship. Erica was stunned when both groups decided independently not to ask for the Ilvar's help but to attempt Ascension on their own, again the Ori hoped to gain the Ilvar's favor by doing so. Unfortunately, neither group reached that point before the Ori's systematic attempt to wipe out the Ancients, and instead of trying to reach a compromise, the Ancients fled.

Upset and angry at the opposing viewpoints the other two had taken, the Ilvar split into two groups, one to watch the Ori, the other to monitor the Ancients, and in both cases intervene when something looked ready to go wrong. The Ori were blocked from turning their children into literally mindless sycophants, while the System Lords were prevented from attaining galactic domination. Yet the collective Ilvar didn't stay Ascended. Several of them found partners among the Ancients' and the Ori's children, descending to marry and have children with them. It was more common in their galaxy of origin, as the Ilvar refused to let their children grow up under Goa'uld tyranny.

Again came the sensation of eras passing, until Erica felt a sense of déjà vu. A solitary Ascended being, aquamarine in color, approached the Earth. It took a second look before she concluded that yes, that was indeed Earth. It was shortly joined by a teal being, both assuming human form. Erica's mouth fell open. The older woman's auburn hair and teal eyes were familiar, and after a second Erica recognized her as May's grandmother Orlithe. The younger woman had bright red hair that fell in tight curls to about mid back, her aquamarine eyes surveying the planet beneath her.

"My _god_ . . ." Erica breathed. Cassidy. May's mother Cassidy. Even though it was far too late to do anything about it, Erica wanted to scream, tell the young woman not to go down there, or at least take Richard somewhere else. Eventually it registered that she was screaming, but for all the noise she thought she was making she wasn't noticed at all. She didn't think she could bear to watch anymore, knowing the tragic events to come, but the vision continued. She watched Cassidy and Richard meet for the first time, watched them date for a good five years, get married, have their first and only child, a tiny fair-skinned blue eyed baby. She watched little May learn to walk, read, write, draw, play with her parents and a few kids about her age. She watched with a sense of growing horror as they went into hiding, Cassidy rising one morning and knowing something was about to go wrong. How she'd been agitated all morning, begging Richard not to go to work. He reassured her he would be fine. She spent most of the day in tears, glancing fearfully at the doors and windows, her gaze landing on her child and growing hard. That night, Cassidy woke May, dressed her and sent her out the back door. When the men broke down the door, Richard was the first to go down; Cassidy's shriek of rage actually broke the windows on the ground floor. Her ring, unnoticed until that point, glowed like a star, filling her with energy. She too glowed, appearing to leave her body behind before the energy became too much and flared outward, killing her and taking out the three gunmen in the house, which at this point caught fire. The tires of the getaway car squealed against the pavement in the driver's hast to get away, at which point a small ripple of energy left the house. It appeared to rouse May, who bolted eastward as fast as her little legs could carry her.

The ripple was also felt on the Ascended plains. The Ancients, for all their aloofness, were stunned, the Ori were horrified, the Ilvar were practically destroyed. Orlithe's wail of grief was heard across the Ascended plains, echoed by their brethren in both galaxies. The fires in the Ori galaxy were dimmed as a sign of mourning, the Ori offering whatever support they could. After a week, Orlithe took action, mentally torturing not just the drivers of the getaway car, whom Richard had told the police he'd seen, but every member of the drug ring the FBI had been after for years. Unable to compete with an all-powerful Ascended being on a vengeance kick, they turned themselves in within the month. The following month, every one of them had to be transferred to an asylum. Within another month, they were all dead. It looked like they'd been tortured first too, as most had clearly been foaming at the mouth before they died.

"Look well Warrior. You know my story. Now you share my pain. No mother should have to outlive her child."

Erica jumped, startled as Orlithe approached her.

"Does it get better?" She asked.

Orlithe shook her head, "It never does. The pain will dull, but it will always be there. A constant and persistent reminder of what you have lost."

"How do you deal with it?"

"Anubis was unfortunate enough to place himself within my reach. His existence threatened my granddaughter, and I responded appropriately."

Erica wasn't sure she wanted to know how. Orlithe's expression, one part vengeful and two parts crazy, had been mirrored on May's face on Tyler's birthday. Mere hours later Concordia had been evacuated because Marcus had not only been shot, he'd also resembled a pincushion. Hobbes said May had done it. Sam and Teal'c had exchanged looks of alarm while Vala grinned nervously behind them. Erica had discounted it, unable to see her daughter doing such a thing.

Erica changed the subject, "So, what do think of Adria?"

Orlithe glanced away for a second, a truly demonic smirk crossing her face, before turning back to Erica and saying, "Fire can never be tamed, but Ice is more than a match. You're going to have an interesting week."

And with that she faded and Erica woke up.

* * *

><p>May refused to touch the mail that morning, to Erica's amusement.<p>

"Jesus May, it's not like it's contaminated!" she joked, until glancing at the handwritten return address on the top envelope. She got about as far as High Commander Diana before passing out. She came to on the couch with an icepack on her forehead.

"Not contaminated huh?" May asked sarcastically from the kitchen. Judging from the rattling of dishes, she was fixing breakfast for both of them.

"Very funny." Erica groaned, sitting up. "Wonder what she wants?"

"To offer condolences for you losses and determine where your two species go from here."

Erica barely stopped herself from asking how May knew that, remembering one of the near-Ascended abilities was mind-reading. Besides, it did seem like something Diana would do, as it would make her look sincere. The undercurrent of anti-V feelings was fairly strong after it was discovered an "innocent" boy had died onboard the New York mothership, meaning their reputation was on the line. Sure enough, the inside of the envelope contained a human-made sympathy card and a long hand-written letter, on a sheet of lined paper no less, expressing Diana's sympathy for Erica and May's losses, admitting that years ago she too had lost a child. It was the concluding lines that made Erica pause:

_I would like to meet with you and your daughter at your convenience. Unlike my own daughter's invitation to dine with you I don't expect you to drop everything and board the ship as soon as physically possible. If you are angry with me or my people and wish no contact between us I will understand, but I would appreciate a face-to-face meeting at some point to discuss where our species go from here. As for your daughter, I fear she is the only one who can get through to Lisa. My granddaughter had become withdrawn and I fear she will suffer a breakdown of some sort if she doesn't see a friendly face soon. I am ashamed to admit I don't have the time to properly look after her and she's taken to growling at everyone who enters her room._

From out of the kitchen a sharp hissing erupted, and Erica was almost positive it was a string of Sirian profanities because the only thing she heard for sure was a change in pitch. Against her better judgment, Erica decided to meet with Diana at least once. Maybe she could scream at her until she went horse.

Across town, Vala had gone to wake Adria and attempt to be serious about her daughter's relationship. Though it was more than likely Adria already knew what she was going to say, possibly had heard it before, she seemed content to sit there as Vala ran down a prepared speech on treating one's partner with respect at all times and how to be safe when they were intimate. Adria nodded in all the right places, explaining how defensive the Ilvar were of their children especially when they were old enough to court and be courted by others. Case in point, if Orlithe did not approve of her relationship with May, for any reason at all, then they wouldn't be together. Vala nodded before leaving the room, her job completed.

_Up to something Caela Gemma?_

_Perhaps I am Tenebris Angela. Why?_

_Curiosity. I only ask that you refrain from toying with Lisa, especially now that her mind is unstable._

_As you command Dark Angel._

Adria shivered and resisted the urge to find her mate and claim her again as roughly as physically possible.

* * *

><p>Erica parked in a garage six blocks from the V Shuttle docking area, hoping that the walk would drain some of her nervous energy. If she was going to sit for god knew how long playing politics with an alien leader, she might as well be calm enough to sit still. A glance at her daughter revealed little. May was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, her hair in a simple ponytail. Her blue-green eyes were glowing again, not that Erica was bothered by it, but otherwise her expression was blank. She could be thinking about anything, from how to skin a lizard to what happened between herself and Adria the previous evening.<p>

A smile ghosted across May's face. Erica kicked herself for even thinking about it, hoping the walk was long enough to calm them both down. The last thing she needed was for Adria to wipe out an entire species because they looked at May the wrong way.

_They've beefed up security._ She thought, taking notice of the number of guards. Other than that it seemed to be business as usual, people cueing up for a ride to the mothership. May growled and Erica caught several muttered profanities.

"I'm gonna have a long talk with your guardian young lady." Erica muttered under her breath as they got closer to the shuttle. May tugged on her sleeve, "Marcus is coming."

"Really?"

"Good morning Agent Evans, Miss Lamont."

May looked torn between offering a caustic remark and taking his head off right there, so Erica did the talking.

"Good morning Marcus. How are you feeling?"

"I am well, thank you. High Commander Diana was hoping you would come. In fact she left instructions that you be escorted to a private shuttle at the Peace Ambassador Center."

May wondered if Diana fully grasped the concept of snail mail and how long Marcus had been standing out here waiting for them. All the same, she fell into step behind her mother and Diana's right claw as they walked to the PA Center. The Ilva knew if she lost enough control Vs would be throwing themselves into walls in their haste to get out of her way.

_The Oncoming Storm indeed._

The only difference between this shuttle and the others, aside from the lack of passengers, was the décor. It looked like the shuttle Lisa had taken her up in. May's mind flashed back to that ride:

_"Did you learn which one took your Ring?" she asked timidly._

_Lisa shook her head and pulled out the "alien video camera". She handed it to May._

_"I want you to have this. It goes more in depth than I ever could."_

_May almost refused but Lisa placed it in her hands and stared pleadingly. The eyes of a person doomed to die._

May had learned far more about the Vs than their unfortunate brush with Ba'al. Sure the main purpose of the device concerned the Stargate, but by fiddling with it she accessed ship's archives and downloaded their entire history, including the species they had interbred with in the past. The Vs hadn't really cared about naming the creatures they assimilated and then destroyed, but she recognized a few of them from verbal descriptions the Sirians had given her.

At that point it hit her. Anna's narrow focus on interbreeding made her blind to everything else, but Diana, political animal that she was, would be focused on damage control. She was probably aware by now that the device was missing if not where it was.

_Tenebris can you do me a favor?_

* * *

><p>The shuttle came to a very smooth landing and Marcus led them through the corridors to Diana's executive suite.<p>

"Agent Evans and Miss Lamont are here my Queen."

"Thank you Marcus. Send them in."

The old queen observed her guests as they approached. Erica seemed ready for whatever was coming, but there was also a weariness about her, a resignation. Yes she was here, but she did not like it. As for May, she carried herself with an inhuman grace, slightly narrowed eyes taking in the room. She was not impressed.

"Please, sit." Diana gestured to one of the two couches perpendicular to the desk, separated by nothing but space.

When neither Erica nor May spoke, Diana began.

"I'm sorry about what happened to your family Agent Evans. The Visitor responsible for your husband's presence inside the Fifth Column's headquarters has been punished."

"And my son?"

Diana paused, reviewing what she'd been told by Joshua and the medical staff, "Anna preserved a second queen egg in case Lisa betrayed her. Experiments were preformed on the hybrid baby in order to accelerate the development of the unborn queen. She was fertile upon hatching, given skin that looked exactly like Lisa's and enough of her memories to fool Tyler. After a Queen mates she devours her partner to nourish her eggs. Such appeared to be her intent after killing him, but something . . . tortured her to death in return."

When After Lisa failed to kill Anna, she was imprisoned in the dungeon and forced to watch her sister mate with Tyler and rip his throat out.

This was news to Erica. She hadn't noticed anything in that bedroom but her son's body.

Diana brought up a screen, showing what looked like the Northern Lights slam into the Lisa double and . . . dissolve her human skin. She shrieked the whole time.

May's head hit Erica's shoulder with a moan.

"That was, really disturbing." Erica said, rubbing May's back and fighting the urge to be sick.

"Yes. Yes it was." Diana's human face was very pale. "Would you excuse me for a few minutes?"

As soon as the old V was out of earshot May said, "She had to throw up."

"Thanks May. Didn't need to know that."

When Diana returned a few minutes later, Marcus and Joshua were right behind her, probably to make sure she didn't suffer a heart attack. Or keel over on the spot. May wouldn't mind either scenario honestly.

"We found Lisa in the dungeon later. She had been forced to watch and unable to stop it, screamed herself hoarse, the collapsed in a corner from emotional exhaustion."

For the next hour and a half, Diana answered every question the two women asked to the best of her ability. Some rather pointed ones from May led to the old queen explaining the history of their homeworld, their use of the Stargate, and its theft by the Goa'uld. Two growls from Marcus and Joshua respectively revealed a deep-seated and murderous hatred for their blood enemies, forced to fester in absence of a target. The Sirians at least could screw them over on the ground – and via ship – but the Vs were literally the smallest fish in the sea right now, on par with Ha'tak but too blinded by hate to properly engage them in battle.

Which led May to thinking, _Blue Energy plus Naquadah equals potentially spectacular firework show._

Erica was grateful for May's questions, as it meant any slipup on her part could be attributed to Diana instead of SG-1. And she learned a lot about the Visitors' plans. Supposedly there was a rare gene possessed by a select group of humans, including herself. Anna wasn't entirely sure what purpose it served, but assumed its rarity made it valuable. Every human mother and unborn child who fell victim to V experimentation had this gene in some form, including the 29 boys. Stripping half their DNA weakened that gene a little, but it was still there.

Diana explained they had noticed a lot of humans on various worlds in the galaxy, likely due to threvast intervention. One of her top scientists discovered that said humans could trace their ancestry back to this world, and assumed that Earth-born humans were some sort of parent race. It was then assumed that by interbreeding with Earth-born humans, further breeding with the other humans would be successful due to the presence of the "parent" DNA in the hybrid generation. Naturally, breeding with humans would set them on a collision course with the System Lords, eventually escalating into all out war. That was why the Vs had assimilated with other species, to become strong enough to overcome their enemies.

May wondered if she could smack herself in the forehead and not be questioned about it. Her expression must have given something away because Diana inquired, "You don't approve?"

"It seems like a waste of time, energy and resources. If you had gone to the Exiles they might have agreed to help you."

Diana blinked, "I hadn't thought of that. Unfortunately we never discovered the planet that corresponded with the address. They were likely extinct by that point anyway."

Erica was the first to notice the steady drop in temperature and scooted to the far end of the couch. May's eyes had become hard and cold, and Diana replayed the conversation in her head to find what she'd said that might have caused offence.

When May spoke it was in such a biting tone Erica almost didn't recognize it, "Really? They weren't smart enough to find food without help, build a society of their own, and learn how to work the Ring without assistance?"

Diana flinched. Some of those exiled by previous queens had been the most intelligent of their kind, and it wasn't _that_ difficult to work the Ring.

"The possibility of the exiled surviving was never considered. Arrogance on our part mostly. We were a young society then, hadn't been what you would call civilized for very long."

"How long?" Erica asked, honestly curious.

Diana thought for a minute, "Long enough that we were building crude shelters and separating into classes."

"So it's possible the Exiles reverted to an instinctual lifestyle?" May asked, already knowing the answer. There were still feral Sirians after all.

Diana glanced at Joshua, who admitted, "It's possible."

May was glaring daggers at him, having a good idea what he was here for.

"But enough about my species and our plans for Earth. Let's talk about you Miss Lamont."

Erica mentally swore. May kept her expression neutral and waited. Diana flicked her wrist, a holoscreen popping up over the desk. Once of Tyler's memories was playing, one from when he was four. May's lips curled into a smirk. Oh yes, she remembered that day well. So did Erica, although she walked in on the immediate aftermath. Tyler was chasing May, whining about how she always won when they played games. It looked like he wanted to hit her, but just when he'd get close May would evade him, jumping and twisting out of his reach. May was clever and quick for a five-year-old, dodging and leaping away from Tyler, tearing into the kitchen, climbing onto the island and knocking over the chair.

"Why did I never sign you up for dance lessons?" Erica asked. May's performance impressed the hell out of her. Diana wore a similar expression.

"I learned martial arts." May replied with a shrug. Mostly Tai Chi, which Vala frequently confused with Ba Gua, proving to everyone that she watched too much TV.

Joshua was whispering something to Marcus, who could have sworn in that instant that May's right ear twitched.

Diana brought up a more recent memory then: May's arrival about three months ago. It was easy to tell she wasn't quite human. Her appearance looked more fey than Celtic, something that filled May with pride . . . and Adria with (literally) fiery passion. May snickered audibly as memory-Tyler said under his breath, "God she's hot. I'm gonna have start carrying a gun!"

Erica laughed. Yes, May had certainly grown up, but could definitely take care of herself.

Joshua was whispering to Marcus again, this time explaining the protective streak all human males seemed to possess in regards to their younger and unmated female relatives.

Diana manipulated the screen so that an image of five-year-old May was next to an image of eighteen-year-old May. The differences were subtle but clear.

"As you can see, you weren't much different from other humans your age. Your skin tone, hair and eye color suggest Celtic ancestry, but there are subtle differences even now."

"Like?" Erica asked, sounding defensive.

"Her skin is fair yes, but in the right light it's . . . how can I say this? It seems to glow, and not just from good health and a clear complexion."

"You think my daughter's skin lights up?" Erica asked sarcastically and with a raised eyebrow. Diana blinked twice before saying, "Not exactly. It's, well, too light. Fair enough to fool the majority of humans, but to those with the training it would stand out."

"And in the second memory?"

"Her body is proportionally different from a human's. Again the differences are subtle, unnoticed by untrained eyes, and while we're on the subject of eyes, Miss Lamont's are a different color." Diana enlarged the screen around May's eyes.

"A human's eye color is dependent upon the genes they inherit from their parents, but can also be altered by disease." Joshua explained, speaking for the first time. "I can't think of any possible combination of genes that would result in such a distinctive color."

This time it was Joshua who pulled up a screen, this one displaying three images. The first two came from May's parent's drivers licenses, the third was her. Richard's eyes were blue, a normal human eye color, but Cassidy's were aquamarine.

"Cassidy Lamont's eyes are also unique." Here Joshua faltered, a theory he'd come up with almost two decades ago crossing his mind. He'd read the theories of Martin, Diana's top scientist, when he was just starting out in the Medical Bay. They had spoken at length about the subject, and Joshua, young as he had been, had proposed a theory of his own: What if Earthborn humans were themselves the children of another "parent" race? What if that parent race had guided the development of Earth humans and at some points interbred with them? It certainly explained those individual humans with mental and physical capabilities that far exceeded their peers. Martin had considered it, researched it, and concluded that it certainly bore looking into. Unfortunately, Anna hadn't seen it that way and ordered him to be skinned.

"Joshua? Are you alright?" Diana asked, concerned. Joshua had been silent for a minute or so, long enough for May to catch Erica's eye and glance at the doorway.

Joshua shook himself, "I'm fine my Queen. I was just thinking, about a theory I had proposed to Martin."

Diana raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

Not sure how to introduce it, Joshua settled for blurting it out, "What if all humans are themselves children of a parent race, one which guided their development and at some point interbred with them?"

_And in thirty seconds, Joshua points out something it took SGC years to notice. _May thought with the faintest hint of a smirk. In a way it was refreshing to be around such a blunt species. Pity she hated all of them but Lisa personally.

When Diana didn't order he be skinned immediately Joshua continued, "It's the only way I can explain such an, _exotic_, eye color. Cassidy Lamont's aquamarine eyes and Miss Lamont's turquoise ones could possibly indicate an ancestor from this parent race."

Erica was working herself up for a rant when May's hand rested on hers.

Joshua was still talking, "It would also fit in with the abrupt physical changes she experienced during Red Sky. Humans being drawn to physical beauty as they are wouldn't notice, but Miss Lamont can barely pass for human."

And that was it as far as Erica's temper was concerned. She started the chewing out with how rude it was to discuss a human as if they weren't in the room and went from there, none of them noticing the person whom they were discussing slip from the room.

May padded through the mothership's corridors, following the aggressive brainwaves of the younger V telepath. Peering into Lisa's room, May felt her heart squeeze.

Though the slashes on Lisa's human face had been healed, she was painfully skinny, her human flesh beginning to conform to the alien body hidden within. Her breathing was slow and raspy, and though she was clearly ill she refused to enter the dormant state some creature in V DNA was known for. Sensing an intruder, Lisa hissed weakly and bared her real teeth.

"Lisa?"

The blonde V watched her cautiously, growling. May got to the edge of the bed and reached out, stroking Lisa's oily hair.

Adria's anger spiked as May said softly, "Poor baby."

Lisa's instincts sensed no threat so she relaxed under the attention, purring and nudging the hand in her hair. Curious, May scratched Lisa's head like she did to Delta. Lisa let out a yip and flopped bonelessly onto the mattress. She continued to purr, albeit loudly, her tail winding around May's arm. Glancing at her, Lisa pulled herself upright and nuzzled May's face. May's expression twisted slightly, tasting something strange in the air. Across town, Adria blew up a second vase in a fit of possessive rage.

_Pheromones?_

May flicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. Calming pheromones. Okay, she could handle that. Lisa was content with her presence and wanted her to stay, if the constant nuzzling, soft purring and occasional lick on the cheek were anything to go by. Her tail slid from May's arm to curl around her waist instead. That was bold, even for Lisa. May tugged at it, thankful her arms were free. Lisa tilted her head, confused, and made a trilling sound in her throat. May was unmoved. The pheromones became stronger, catching May off guard. She struggled against the sudden overpowering desire to fall asleep as Lisa pulled her shirt collar aside to nuzzle her shoulder. The one Adria hadn't bitten. That woke May enough to growl, startling Lisa into withdrawing her tail and backing away. The level of pheromones spiked but this time May was ready for it, releasing a fierce snarl laced with power and superiority. She felt Lisa's mind, partially ruled by instinct, submit to her, evidenced by the V curling onto her side and exposing her neck.

May absently stroked her hair while glancing around the room. Lisa could not stay here any longer, she needed to be with people who cared about her well-being, people she loved and who loved her in return. A weak hiss from Lisa startled her.

"_I called for you. I called, but you did not come. Why did you not come?_"

"_I did not hear. I watched as they buried my nest-mate and had to care for my second mother. I am sorry I did not come before now._"

Lisa blinked lazily, soothed by May's touch. After a minute she continued, "_I missed you._"

"_I missed you too._" May replied, pausing for a moment to check on her mother. Incredibly, she was still shouting at Diana, Marcus, and occasionally Joshua. Shaking her head in amusement, May turned back to Lisa and whispered, "_I hate seeing you this way, tired, broken and ill. Please Lisa, let me help you._"

When Lisa spoke again, it was in English. Her voice raspy from disuse, she begged, "Take me with you."

May nodded, wondering how to do so as the now crying Visitor threw herself into the Ilva's arms and resumed nuzzling her. Lisa really had missed her, sending a sequence of disjointed feelings and memories along a weak telepathic connection:

_Tyler's death. Despair. Her grandmother. The Bliss. Betrayal. Multiple sedations. The Medical Bay. Physical pain. The Bliss. A sense of weakness. The Memory Chamber. The Bliss. Longing. Searching. Never finding. Sleepless nights. Hunger. Thirst. The Bliss. May . . . Where are you?!_

The temperature around them plummeted, causing Lisa to snuggle into May. She whimpered softly, feeling the power spiral around them waiting for direction. May hugged her, glancing in confusion at the power spinning around her. It was normally an icy turquoise; it did not have traces of fiery red darting through it.

_Fire and Ice, working as one._ Her power and Adria's in harmony. This had happened before, though May had been asleep at the time.

_Adria . . . help me._

Adria said nothing, but May felt her widen their connection and pour as much power as she could spare through it. The energy surrounding them turned a bizarre shade of green before Adria drew most of it back through their connection. The resulting peal of thunder was mistaken for an earthquake and heard all the way to the mothership.

May felt dizzy and fell against Lisa with a whine. The V hissed in alarm, a sense of higher reason asserting itself for the first time in days. Lisa placed two fingers against the side of May's neck and sighed in relief when she felt a pulse. Instinct reasserted itself then, the animalistic part of her knowing May was too weak to defend herself. She had no way of knowing if there was anyone willing to do the job as her world had shrunk to the room in which she lived and the hallway she could see beyond it. She pulled May further up the bed and tucked her in, keeping watch until the scent of passion fruit overwhelmed her and she too fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Across town, a very dizzy Adria just barely made it to the bathroom before her stomach emptied itself. The experience was a distinctly unpleasant one, as were the circumstances that brought it about in the first place.<p>

When she was finished in the bathroom she went to her bedroom and curled up under a blanket. Both her pendant and the physical pain and weakness in her body told her the only cure for this was rest. In theory she could draw on May's power, despite the fact it clashed violently with her own. In practice however, drawing on another's power, even though said powers recognized them as mates, was dangerous and could be lethal. The Ice, Fire, or Lightning that the Alterans used was a part of them, inscribed in their very blood and keyed to their emotions. The power spinning around May was, as the Tau'ri said, off the charts, enough to bring down the New York mothership and leave a good sized crater in the middle of the NYC. Such a high level of energy was brought about by high emotions, such as passion, ecstasy or rage. Using herself as a conduit to siphon off that rage-driven energy was the most incredibly unwise thing she had done to date, and it showed in her current state. She had started whispering a prayer to the Ori before remembering that they weren't actually gods. Instead she decided to sleep off the worst of the pain. Perhaps she could convince May to stay the night?

* * *

><p>Roughly ten minutes and several glasses of water later, Erica ran out of steam, and tears, sat on the couch, yanked the cart closer to her and tore into a sandwich. Joshua was the first to snap out of it, his human skin flushing as he turned away and stared out the window. Marcus appeared to have fainted with his eyes open. Diana blinked rapidly and attempted to digest what she had heard. This poor woman had lost nearly everything because of her species and now, going on three months later, finally had a target on which to direct that rage without being asked awkward questions. Again she cursed her daughter's arrogance while feeling around for the couch. She lowered her aged frame onto it, every one of her sixty years weighing her down.<p>

What was she supposed to do now? Erica was the only human ally she still had, but thanks to Anna's machinations she no longer trusted them. It seemed May had never trusted them, only warming to Lisa when her granddaughter began feeling emotions. And while she couldn't take the blame for the other species they had interbred with and then destroyed, it was her fault Earth was in such bad shape. Its path to ruin was her plan and begun on her orders, she had ignored the signs of increasing disloyalty from Anna, she had pointed Anna in the direction of the human soul. She had Blissed Lisa in an attempt to make her go through with killing Anna. Diana had hoped that her own Bliss would overpower Lisa's emotions long enough for her to do so, and a second Blissing upon her return would erase the incident from her memory, absolving her of blame and preventing her from feeling guilt over it. The experimentation on Tyler in utero had taken place under her regime, thousands of children and their mothers had died, and she wondered how many families she'd helped to destroy in her mission to overthrow the System Lords. Even their exiled brethren hadn't been so callous, so cruel, offering assistance to those who needed refuge from reigning Queens.

The only thing keeping them from leaving this planet, aside from the distance to the next viable one, was her own pride. She believed if given enough time, Lisa would recover enough to breed with a Visitor and perhaps that generation would breed with humans. Noticing the plate now devoid of sandwiches, Diana took a deep breath and hoped she sounded sincere, "I know nothing I can say will assuage your anger, just as nothing I can say or do can bring back your husband and son. The child I lost, many years ago, I lost before I felt any emotion. Like Anna, she was a queen, but I chose Anna because she was the more aggressive of the two. The other queen egg disappeared before it could be destroyed. I spent the years in that dungeon wondering how things would have been different if I had chosen her instead."

Silence reigned until Erica noticed May was missing. And she had a good idea where her hybrid daughter had gone. Deciding leaving now would eliminate the possibility of carnage, she turned to the old queen and asked, "So, we done?"

"For now." Diana replied, standing and nudging Marcus. "It's time to Bliss Lisa."

The fuse of Erica's temper relit, "What?"

Diana squeezed her eyes shut and hissed something before explaining in English, "Ever since watching Tyler's death, Lisa's mind has been unstable. She acts less like a human and more like an animal, we aren't sure what's causing it or how to stop it. That's why I hoped Miss Lamont would come with you, perhaps the sight of a friendly face would repair some of the damage."

Erica stared at her like she'd grown another head, "You hoped, that my daughter, could somehow bring a feral Lisa back from the brink?"

Joshua cringed behind them; Lisa's behavior definitely indicated that as a possibility. She was quite territorial already, even when food was brought.

_Oh crap. Had May gone to Lisa's room?_

* * *

><p>The rapid approach of others woke May, and after several attempts Lisa too returned to the land of the living. Scenting intruders, Lisa snarled, restrained only by May's hand on her shoulder. At the sight of Erica however, fear replaced anger and her snarl became a whine. She hid behind May, instinct telling her she was the more powerful of the two of them.<p>

"Lisa?"

Lisa hissed sharply. May could feel her trembling as fear and disjointed memories poured into her mind again. The menacing glare, complete with luminous eyes, slammed the instinct of every other person (bar Lisa) in the room. Even Erica backed off, while the trio of Vs appeared to be fighting the strong urge to run from the superior predator. Joshua seized the jacket of a fleeing Marcus, unwisely turning his back to May.

The Ilva seriously considered impaling them both with a spear of ice, or at least Marcus who owed her a debt in blood. Lisa nuzzled her cheek in an attempt to calm her, hissing softly in her ear.

_You're coming with me._

Lisa's nuzzling paused until she answered, _Thank you._

Diana had just opened her mouth to speak when May exploded, a torrent of insults in multiple languages raining down upon the old queen like physical blows. And just when it looked as though she was finished, May unleashed the most devastating things she could say, "I will _not_ submit to medical or mental testing of any kind, the scroll was given to me as a gift and I'm _not_ going to give it back, and Lisa is coming home with me. Darken my doorstep again, and I will end you."

While everyone else stood as though frozen in place, May tugged Lisa's hand, waited patiently for her to change into human clothing, and led her from the room.

"Let's go Mom." She shouted when they were a short distance away. Erica shook herself and raced after them.

* * *

><p>May entered Uncle Jack's house with Lisa in tow, walking straight into the kitchen to find a meal she could fix quickly and with little effort. Her telekinesis ended up doing most of the work thanks to her simmering anger. In the five minutes it took to fix a good sized ham-and-cheese omelet, Lisa had looked about the room in evident curiosity, opening cabinets and peering into the fridge. When the omelet had cooled, Lisa sat at the table and eagerly devoured it. A second omelet, two apples and a large glass of milk later, the V had taken a long shower and then curled up for a nap in the guest room.<p>

"You okay Erica?" Jack asked, concerned by the slightly glazed look in her eyes. Sam shook her a little and Erica blinked.

"She . . . she just," Erica swallowed while Daniel was sent for a glass of water. She waved him off and pulled herself together, recounting everything that had happened aboard the mothership and finishing with, "And May's just burned all her bridges with the Visitors, and to be honest I hope that's the last I hear from them."

Jack knew better than say anything, especially as Erica drained the glass and promptly crashed on their couch. With a request that they mind Lisa, May crossed the street to check on Adria. She explained the V's situation, and Adria explained what she had done with their powers. She told May rather sharply not to do it again, earning her a look of hurt. A short-lived thunderstorm later, Ilva and Orici crossed the street again to check on Lisa.

"Unusual weather we're having." Vala commented, winking at Adria. Daniel groaned. Adria just rolled her eyes and glanced toward the guest bedroom with something akin to curiosity.

"Why does it smell like omelet in here?" Cam asked.

"Because May fixed two and Lisa ate them both." Sam replied, glancing at the surprisingly clean kitchen.

"But how many different cheeses did she need?" he continued, noting the absence of American, cheddar, and colby, as well as the two empty egg cartons in the garbage.

"All of them." She replied jokingly. "Why, are we out?"

"We've got two slices of provolone left." Cam sounded disappointed.

Sam glanced around the kitchen again. Nodding her approval that nothing else needed to be done, she joined the others in the living room to discuss Erica's mothership trip more in depth. That the Vs had specifically sought women with the ATA gene was alarming, as it would give them access to Ancient technology. Also cause for concern was Joshua's theory of a "parent race" for all humans. He was partially right, just clueless about the faction of the race in question. After dealing with the majority of aliens offworld, attempting to deal with another race on their own turf, especially one as public, perceptive, and well-connected as the Visitors, was one hell of a challenge.

May shot down the suggestion of pizza for dinner, citing that it reminded Lisa too much of Tyler, so Jack went out and brought back enough fish to feed an army. Lisa ate most of it. In fact, Lisa's appetite ensured there would be no leftovers. She sent every empty bowl and platter a look of longing until May said, "It's alright, there will be more in the morning."

Lisa pulled May into an affectionate squeeze and kissed her on the cheek. Adria's eyes narrowed but she said nothing while Fire raged inside her, wanting to eliminate the reptilian rival.

Diana was heeding May's warning for the time being, and for about a week nearly everyone had some peace and quiet, except when May and Adria would disappear for, as Jack said, "A quick roll in the hay."

"Damn it Jack, I'm trying not to think about that!" Daniel bellowed over a peal of thunder.

"I'd say they're worse than teenagers," Janet shouted over the now continuous rumbling, "But then I remember they _are_ teenagers."

Privately Erica agreed with Janet. While she had no desire to learn how often Tyler and Lisa were intimate, at least they had the sense to wait until they were alone. May and Adria could vanish, sometimes for hours, and the resulting freak storm would only blow itself out when the two stopped or fell asleep, whichever came first.

As for Lisa, she quickly adjusted to the large number of people in May's family, quit devouring everything in reach, and slept mostly without nightmares. But there were times, mostly when Adria wasn't around, that Lisa acted oddly towards May, cuddling up to her on the couch, sleeping with her head on May's lap, and the weirdest part, preening May's hair.

"It's a comfort thing." May explained to a surprisingly tolerant Adria, although that might be due to the presence of May's fingers in her own hair. All the same, Adria suggested a Sirian mind healer. Lisa glanced at her oddly before returning her attentions to May's hair. She recognized the word Sirian. It meant something, but she didn't know what.

When May got up and left the room, Lisa stared at Adria. She looked unhappy, so Lisa took May's spot and preened her hair.

"The hell?" Cam asked in shock. He wasn't sure what surprised him more, what Lisa was doing or the fact Adria hadn't killed her for it. She didn't look entirely comfortable, but her eyes flicked in Cameron's direction when he pulled out his cell phone and pressed a few buttons.

"Smile for the camera Adria." He said teasingly. Her eyes widened and the phone hit him between the eyes.

"Really Tenebris Angela?" May asked with a sigh, taking the empty place on the couch. Lisa looked torn, but eventually fell asleep with her head on May's lap and her tail curled around Adria's wrist.

"At least you didn't kill him."

"I thought about it, but settled for breaking his nose."

"Oh Adria."

* * *

><p>The first hint SG-1 and Erica had that something big was about to happen was when May suddenly stilled during breakfast. A scroll appeared on the table in a flash of white light, which was unnerving by itself, but when Jack broke the seal and noticed it was addressed to Warrior Evans and SG-1, he knew the Sirians had played them all in a big way. He read the thing aloud, "The Sirian High Council requests your presence at the trial of Ivreseen Anna, former queen of the race known as the Visitors, at sunrise in seven days. Travel by Ring to Delta's home and she will guide you from there."<p>

There was a split second of silence before all hell broke loose. Adria led a frightened Lisa upstairs while May followed, a partially insane grin on her face.

_It has begun._

**Well, that took forever. I swear Erica will go through the Stargate next time! Anna's trial commences and maybe the ruling will surprise you. (Then again, maybe not.) I hope to have this wrapped up in one or two more chapters.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Thanks Major Simi! I'm glad to hear it.**

**Greetings to theborgcolective, Robotech1984, and DuncH! Hope you enjoyed it.**

Cam felt Erica shouldn't go with them at all, citing her status as a civilian and the fact she was on bereavement leave. Vala countered with the fact that the Sirian scroll addressed her by name and listed her before SG-1, therefore her presence was expected. She followed this up by saying Erica and her allies had been trying to stop or slow the Vs while they sat on their hands and did nothing.

"May sent us enough useful information to start throwing ideas around. We could have made a deal with the Fifth Column, maybe not the global network, but at least Erica's bunch. We could have offered Valerie some sort of protection from the Vs. When Ryan called me a threvast we could have contacted the Jaffa or the Sirians to engage the Vs in battle. We didn't. Why didn't we?"

Daniel sighed. Thiadon, Orlithe's mate, had told him more than once that attempting to keep the Tau'ri happily ignorant was not only stupid but also dangerous. There were ways to reveal information that didn't cause mass hysteria, but the decisions made at Stargate Command tended to stay at Stargate Command. They assumed that because they had experience dealing with aliens, then they should be the only ones dealing with aliens. Thiadon flat out said that their smokescreen wouldn't work forever, _somebody_ out there either wouldn't get the message or pay it no heed, blasting their secret wide open. He said their attitudes were disappointing. Orlithe's anger he could recover from, but when her levelheaded mate said he was disappointed, that _really_ hurt.

"_The universe is evolving Daniel Jackson." He had said. "Earth cannot exist as an island forever."_

"There is innocent blood on our hands CameronMitchell." Teal'c added, bring Daniel back to the present. "Our inaction led to the deaths of thousands, including EricaEvans' husband and son. Even if MayLamont can find it in her heart to forgive us for not preventing the deaths of her father and brother, Adria will not. The Ilvar will not." He tilted his head for a second, "The Ori will not."

That was shocking. Adria's voice sounded somewhere above them, "Explains the sudden weakness."

"Adria . . ."

"I wasn't _using_ it, I just sensed it."

In the end Cam was outvoted. If they showed up at Stargate Command with a scroll addressed to Erica, but no Erica, the higher ups would want to know why her name was on it at all and why they hadn't brought her. If they showed up at the Sirian High Council's meeting place without Erica, the Sirians would blame Cameron and probably go get her themselves. It was one of those damned if they did, damned if they didn't scenarios. Hence how they found themselves packing their bags and driving to Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base, a drive of several hours and requiring three vehicles. They did have to stop at the mall first to get Lisa a wardrobe, because Adria would set fire to the New York mothership before setting foot onboard.

Lisa was making those trilling sounds again as she moved between racks, touching everything that caught her eye. That most of those things tended to be a shade of blue or green did not please Adria, but she refrained from commenting. As the V wandered off, Adria asked, "Are you paying for this?"

May nodded sharply.

"How can you afford it?"

In answer May showed her a credit card. Rolling her eyes and muttering about strange Tau'ri customs, Adria pulled away to find Lisa. Her mind brushed against another telepath's, who at first reacted in fear before returning contact.

_Where are you Lisa?_

An image came to her of several racks of dresses. Adria muttered under her breath and went to collect her. Lisa selected one and watched Adria with pleading eyes.

"No."

She whined, a flurry of emotions making themselves known. Adria sighed, "They are pretty, and they would look very nice on you. Except maybe that one," she pointed to a dress that was a sickly shade of yellow. "We're on a tight schedule though. We have to grab the essentials so we can catch our flight. I'm sorry."

Lisa replaced it and allowed Adria to hug her. She was so lost right now it would take a lot of love and affection to heal her, not only mentally but emotionally. She ignored the irony of her actions as she stroked Lisa's hair and murmured, "Poor baby."

The Visitor squeezed her a little tighter and started to cry. Adria handed her a tissue and led her to Vala. With a whispered "Look after her" Adria went looking for May.

May was idly glancing at sweaters when she sensed her mate's approach and leaned into her arms.

"Is she okay?"

"She needs to be loved. My concern is that the only person she loves in return is you."

"Tenebris Angela, I know with Tyler gone she views me as a mate, and I'm trying to deal with it. I can't just ignore her though. I'll tolerate comfort-seeking but not courtship. Besides, if last night was any indication you'll never let me go."

Adria practically glowed with smug satisfaction as she turned to nibble May's neck.

"No. I won't."

Daniel made a strangled noise somewhere in the vicinity and Adria smirked against May's skin.

"We're in public Adria."

"I know how visible we are May, I just don't care."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

After a quick stop at the food court and three dragon shirts later (Daniel _still_ couldn't believe May had talked him into it), the plane took off and headed for Colorado Springs. Erica was visibly disappointed in the lack of faster-than-light travel, to which May said, "The Tau'ri are a stubborn, shortsighted and arrogant species."

"We're trying to avoid detection by the Vs!" Daniel half-shouted. May rolled her eyes, "And the biggest bunch of chickens on the planet."

"Hm. Pity." Erica replied, facing Jack who started a brief lecture on how to behave that consisted of three things: (1) stay close to one of them, (2) don't shoot Delta, it's not her fault she looks that way, and (3) the word "cabal" is not to be spoken aloud. Nobody would say why.

* * *

><p>"They left Delta alone didn't they?" Adria's tone was that of complete nonchalance as she, Lisa and May stood in front of the entrance to Cheyenne Mountain. SG-1 and Erica stood further back, the former trying to educate the latter as much as possible before they entered the proverbial warzone, unaware the base had been locked down.<p>

May placed a hand against the blast door, beckoning to Adria with the other. Lisa backed away as the door was repeatedly heated and cooled until their combined telekinesis forced the door upward with a shriek of protesting metal. The two Alteran hybrids stepped back to survey their handiwork. The mountain would need new blast doors at the very least, and that was assuming Delta had curled up and hibernated while they'd been gone. The door was now jammed open wide enough for a person to slide beneath if they belly crawled.

"The hell?" Jack's expression was somewhere between confusion and concern at the sight of the badly damaged blast doors. Lisa screamed in alarm when a green hand shot out from beneath the door and swiped at her ankles. Vala managed to pin Erica's arms to her sides before she could grab her gun and shoot at it. May hissed something at the hand, which, incredibly, started drumming its fingers before the creature to whom it belonged rasped something in return. Rolling her eyes and shooting SG-1 a dirty look, she hissed again. The hand withdrew and the bizarre alien ran off.

Lisa's thoughts brushed against May's, briefly fighting herself for coherency before the correct word appeared.

_Crystals?_

_Yes._

_Why?_

_They have powers._

Lisa accepted the answer with a sharp nod. Within ten minutes Delta returned, pawed through what sounded like a bag of marbles, and held a flat yellow crystal under the door. Sam saw enough of it to realize it was the same size and shape as an ID card before May hissed and the hand withdrew. There was a sound like stone being dragged through metal, several clicking noises, and a few English profanities before the door slid up with a groan, leaving enough room to walk without hitting their heads against it.

"Delta." May sounded happy to see the creature, which Erica realized was a V without human skin the second Vala swiped her gun. Delta ignored them all in favor of rubbing her head and neck against May's leg, to Lisa's vocal displeasure. The claws had emerged from beneath human fingernails when Adria noticed and calmly ran her fingers through Lisa's hair, lowering the Visitor's protests down to a glare.

May scratched Delta's head, eliciting a sound Erica assumed was contentment because she had no other way to explain it. The exchange of hisses didn't require an explanation; ignore the fact one was a V and the other was an Ilvar and you had two good friends catching up. The name Woolsey was mentioned a lot, to the chagrin of SG-1. Put Delta, May and Woolsey in close quarters and somebody was gonna get hurt.

"Little weasel man decided it was a good idea to lock down the base after you left. He thought it would protect Stargate Command from the Visitors." May translated for the green alien.

"But it kept us from calling for help." Sam protested, confused. "Vala's right, we could have gone to the Sirians."

"Is Woolsey a V?" Erica asked. SG-1 exchanged looks of alarm. Woolsey knew enough about the Stargate Program to be a valuable asset to the Visitors, and cutting them off from allies just seemed like a V thing to do.

"No. Woolsey is misguided, stubborn, unintelligent bastard. A spineless worm and a sniveling coward." May replied coolly. Delta nodded in agreement.

"Okay, then what happened?" Daniel asked, Janet excusing herself to check on the state of the infirmary.

May's smirk did not bode well for Woolsey's mental health, "If he wanted to protect the base so badly, he shouldn't be allowed to leave. Delta made sure he couldn't."

Only Adria, via her telepathic connection with May, had any idea what Delta had been up to during their roughly two month absence. All of Woolsey's clothes were missing save a single pair of underpants, forcing him to sew up a cross between a dress and a toga out of ripped towels and bed sheets. His nice leather shoes had long since become Delta's chew toys. She'd been eying them for years according to Sam, to the point it didn't matter if Woolsey was wearing them or not when she started chewing on them. The pathetic little man had been pushed down stair cases, barricaded in empty closets, stalked, everywhere, and most recently tied to a wooden chair with his own belts and forced to listen to Disney soundtracks. Repeatedly.

The weird V – part eager pet, part close friend – had quickly learned how to read an analog clock face, which buttons to press to work a TV, DVD player, CD player, how to log on to a computer or laptop to surf the web, and on the more sinister side, how to force a lockdown and keep it that way. And while slowly driving Woolsey mad was fun, even Delta got sick of the same surroundings.

There was desperation in her hissing and May's translation, "Let me out Rasi! Let me out!"

May removed the scroll and hissed something. Delta shrieked and bounded from the room.

"Rasi?" Erica asked.

"'One who has changed.'" May replied, "It refers to a being born with a useful mutation. Such creatures are called Sayrin Rasi, or 'one who is changing.' If they reach adulthood, or in rare cases become a different species entirely, they're called Rasi. And Ivreseen means 'traitor' Daniel, and 'sic' is second-in-command."

Sam thought that last one made sense and even Daniel thought it was funny how May had answered his questions without his asking. Delta's shrieking was still audible, as was a person yelling, "Alright already! I'm coming!"

Delta bounded back into the room, taking a deep breath and exhaling through her mouth, and oddly human behavior for a V. It occurred to Erica then that Delta might never have interacted with her own kind before. She'd have to muse on Delta later though, because General Landry had just walked in and Vala was now blocking her vision.

"Really?"

"Can't be too careful darling."

Adria stood very close to May while Lisa ducked behind the two of them.

Landry could not believe this. Hammond had told him that May's status as a human/Alteran hybrid meant she had to live on base for her own safety, that her fluency in Sirian made her a valuable asset to the program, and that her closest friend was a bizarre looking alien called Delta whose visits were semi frequent and rarely lasted over a week. Of course after she leaves to visit her family does all hell break loose! Between the Visitor's arrival and subsequent chaos, Delta showing up, Adria escaping, the Fifth Column, and Project Ares, he'd hadn't had a decent night's rest in three months! And now SG-1 comes back with May, Adria, the V High Commander's daughter, and Agent Evans.

Delta had picked up on the tension in the room and stood on May's right in case she was needed as backup.

"What's going on here?"

May wordlessly held up a scroll that was instantly recognizable; the Sirian's scrolls were only used for official correspondence and unique for being opalescent and the messages written in bright green ink.

Fifteen minutes later saw everyone ensconced in the briefing room with May explaining the more important points of the previous three months:

The Visitors and the Sirians were the same species. The Exiles retained the name with pride while Visitor was the closest translation to what the Vs called themselves. Ba'al's interference pushed the Vs to the brink of extinction, forcing them to construct ships capable of interstellar travel to leave their dying homeworld. The Vs themselves were dying but still had a bone to pick with the System Lords, so they bred with various species that they believed would give them an advantage. The process itself took generations to refine, the Vs remaining near the species in question until the hybrids were perfect before moving on. The Visitors had been sending sleepers here for approximately fifty years before their ships arrived, studying humans and how they interacted and behaved, and abducting untold numbers of people for experimentation.

"No wonder the Asgard's abductees didn't add up." Landry said in an attempt to break the tension. May's withering glare promised pain so he kept his mouth shut.

The V sleepers dragged Earth to the brink of disaster; Anna overthrew Diana when the latter grew a conscience; Anna wanted total control of humans so interbreeding could take place, hence her attempts to uncover the source of emotion and destroy it; the Fifth Column was doing their able best to stop the Vs but weren't helped by the majority of people instantly accepting the Visitors at face value; the Fifth Column's eleventh hour plan was to have Lisa kill Anna so Diana could take her place, "And if the Sirians hadn't been blowing V ships to kingdom come left, right and center the majority of humans would have ended up Blissed." May snarled, glaring at her mother. Erica looked at her hands in her lap and refused to meet anyone's eyes as Vala's unspoken I-told-you-so hung in the air between them. Landry ducked in his seat and flushed with shame. There would be no mercy from the Sirian High Council, especially if Vortigern was still leading it.

_Enough Caela Gemma, you're frightening Lisa._ Adria thought softly.

_Thank you Tenebris Angela._ May replied, giving Lisa a much needed hug. The V purred in May's ear, trying to comfort her. It didn't help too much.

May held up the scroll, "Anna is in Sirian custody and will be tried when they meet in seven days. The presence of my mother and SG-1 is expected. Delta will guide us there."

The gleeful sibilant laughter from a back corner left Erica feeling unsure.

"And you'll be accompanying them in your capacity as ambassador and translator. What about Adria?"

The temperature plummeted so quickly Landry saw his own breath. Sam jumped in with what she hoped was a satisfactory explanation, "Sir, technically Adria hasn't done anything wrong since her return from the Ori galaxy, Daniel Zatted her so quickly it never registered in his mind. Orlithe's been teaching her for a couple years, not sure what exactly. Oh, and she and May are . . . uh, dating now."

Landry sank further down in his seat. Forget the Sirian High Council, Orlithe might actually kill him!

"Wait a minute. May and Adria are dating?" he asked in disbelief. The varying expressions on everyone else's faces told their own stories: Vala's expression was one of glee, Daniel's face was closer to purple than red, and nobody else looked up. Lisa glanced between them in confusion while Delta rose onto her back legs and sniffed the air. Adria and May stared into each other's eyes for a moment, a look so intimate Landry felt like he was intruding. Personally, he thought they were more than dating, but he knew better than to say that out loud. Instead he congratulated them and changed the subject, "Well Miss Lamont, since you're the closest thing to an expert we have on Sirians why don't you tell us what everyone will need for this trip?"

"Pretend you're going camping." Was all May told them before taking Lisa's hand and leading her from the room. Adria and Delta followed.

"Pretend we're going camping?" Daniel echoed in confusion, "Camping where?"

Jack grinned widely, "Those Sirians sure do know how to live don't they?"

Sam hated to burst his bubble but had no choice, "I don't know about that sir. Beaming technology is fairly advanced, and since they beamed that scroll to us, and that crystal into the Blue Energy Reactor too I bet, they must have ships of some kind. Their technology might be completely different from what we're familiar with but on par with our own ships."

"How long will it take before you're ready to move out?" Landry asked.

"Do you have hiking boots?" Sam asked Erica, who shook her head.

"A couple of hours sir."

* * *

><p>Jack was thrilled at the prospect of roughing it for a week, making sure everyone had everything they needed in their backpacks before they left. The only one more excited than him was Delta, hopping around on all fours like a caffeinated toddler. Other than that, the only real shock was when May somehow talked Adria into wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt, though Vala was willing to bet it had taken some, <em>persuasion<em>, on May's part. It wasn't a bet anyone else would take.

Walter started the dialing process, "Chevron one en-AAUUGGHH!"

Delta swung the chair out of her way and pushed the correct buttons in order, literally bouncing into the Gate room afterward.

"I'm okay." Walter shouted, hauling his chair back to where it belonged.

"SG-1 you have a go." Landry said, but before he could say Godspeed Delta jumped into the active wormhole with a squealing sound.

"She's been here way too long." May muttered under her breath, gesturing for Uncle Jack to lead the way. He did so followed by Teal'c and Daniel, with Erica flanked by Sam and Vala, and Cam trailing behind them. Adria turned to wait for May and Lisa, as the latter looked near panic.

May took Lisa's face in her hands and looked into her eyes. Lisa met them, her rapid pulse slowing until she calmed completely.

_I won't let anything happen to you._

Lisa cocked her head.

_It's alright. Trust me._

_Okay._

Squeezing her hand, May led her through the Gate with Adria close behind them. The rush was exhilarating, almost like flight, and in Lisa's opinion it was over too quickly. She landed on her feet with a squeal of delight, a squeal answered by a high-pitched shriek. Delta had vanished in the direction of a small group of trees, chasing something elk-like from them with a yowl and a hiss of, "_Mine!_"

"She jump in the river yet?" May asked, adjusting the backpack on her shoulders.

"No idea." Jack replied, looking happy to be on another planet where the sun was shining and the sky was blue.

Delta was still shrieking in the distance while Erica looked around. What part of the planet she could see was mostly grassland, save for a few small and scattered copses of trees. The distant sound of moving water was audible to her, likely fed by snowmelt from somewhere. A splash caught her attention, like something falling into the water. A wet Delta calmly emerging from the grass saw her revise that thought.

Delta's laughter sounded like a congested villain from a children's cartoon, as raspy as her speech, but nobody else seemed to care. Her tail was coiled around a bag that looked like animal skin and sounded like it was full a marbles.

"Been busy have we?" May asked with a wide grin, again shifting the backpack. It sounded like it was full of marbles too.

Delta nodded gleefully as she caught the ball of twine Adria tossed her way. A curious Vala was digging through her own pack, emerging with a granola bar in one hand, and a similar sack in the other.

"Darling May, what's this?"

May just kept grinning, though it was smaller now, and winked at Daniel before beginning, "Each of you has a sack of crystals in your packs, each one varying in size, shape and color, although the last one might be too difficult to detect with human eyes."

Curious glances were exchanged as May continued, "The Sirians don't have a currency but deal almost exclusively in trade. These crystals are the most common thing used, easier to find and transport off world that won't raise any eyebrows or have government agents come knocking. For the most part their economy works on a one-to-one basis. If you want something from a merchant, pull out a crystal you think is of similar value and offer it in exchange. Sometimes the crystal you offer is thought to be worth more than what you want, and you'll end up with two items thought to have the combined value of the crystal you're offering."

"Do we have to spend them all?" Vala asked, eying the gallon-sized bag of crystals with some speculation.

"No Vala you don't have to spend them all." May replied with a playful roll her eyes. "You don't have to spend any of them, or you could trade them for other crystals. Or gemstones."

Adria smiled. May knew exactly what buttons to push where her family was concerned.

"To a Sirian there is no difference between a crystal and an uncut gem. Shaping a gemstone is a foreign idea to them since they prefer things as nature intended."

"Do we have to trade for food?" Erica asked.

May shook her head, "All creatures need sustenance to survive. Why trade for something you could easily obtain yourself?"

Adria cleared her throat, glancing at her mother and then Daniel before looking at May. Whatever the message was, she seemed to get it, "Which brings me to the next point. Sirian wine is more potent than anything the Tau'ri among us have ever had. If you're a light weight, or named Daniel Jackson, you should probably avoid anything that's not water. If you absolutely must sample some, Vala, ask for it to be watered down."

Vala returned May's playful eye roll and wide grin. Adria's smile outshone hers. She had sampled Sirian wine before and was eager to do so again. The only cloud on the horizon was the particular drink she'd had was jealously guarded and probably worth more than everyone's crystals combined.

The Gate deactivated behind them and Delta practically flew to the DHD to punch in the next address. The next planet was so crowded with massive trees it was almost pitch black, and took several attempts to dial the third planet, which was nearly buried under ice and snow. Lisa cuddled into Adria's side while Delta curled up at her feet, leaving May to dial the next address which thankfully was accomplished before nightfall. They emerged in a cave on the fourth planet, this time being forced to set up camp while Delta tried dialing out every half hour for most of the night. Erica glanced through the cave entrance the next morning and saw a huge creature with batlike wings emerging from a nearby cave and take flight. Rubbing the kinks from her shoulders and back, she shivered and hoped they got wherever it was they were going before she got motion sick.

Planet 5's Stargate was inside an inactive volcano. The lava was too far beneath them to properly see, but was hotter than hellfire and had it not been for a lucky guess on Adria's part they would've camped there too.

"Nice place eh Adria?" Cam asked jokingly, only to get hit with a migraine of epic proportions. Teal'c had to carry him to the next planet, which unlike the last one actually did appeal to Adria.

The forest they emerged in was younger and sunlit, unlike the last one. Birds with bright plumage flitted from tree to tree, their songs lifting Erica's spirit more than anything had since before the Visitors' arrival. A tiny blue lizard skittered across her path and stared upward with beady eyes . . . before spreading a pair of wings and flying up to land on her shoulder.

"Okay." Was all she said before turning to face the others. A white hart entered the clearing, pawing at the ground and snorting at them. A purple bird landed on Sam's head and extended its neck to meet her eyes. Personally Erica thought it was funny, even the lizard now crawling up the side of her head.

Adria was similarly amused, until she glanced toward May. She was standing in a patch of sunlight that made her skin glow and her eyes glitter like the crystal in her ring. A butterfly landed in her hair, its jeweled wings scattering colored light with each lazy flap.

The sound Adria made was somewhere between a whimper and a moan, and it was clear to anyone paying attention that she wanted May and she wanted May _now_. That Lisa echoed the sound boded ill for all of them, especially when V and Orici attempted to out glare each other. Delta dialed out before there could be bloodshed, startling the hart and birds into flight. Erica's lizard flew after the birds.

They were forced to make camp on the next planet, an unsheltered plateau currently in the middle of a downpour that took two days to clear up. Day five dawned clear enough to dial out before it started again. The rest of that day was spent huddling in yet another cave due to a raging sandstorm. By evening May grew impatient and a burst of icy wind exploded from the cavern, overcoming not only the storm but her as well. They spent the night in that little cavern, Adria and Lisa both snuggling a sleeping May, while Delta tried dialing out for the rest of the night. She succeeded by 6 A.M. Earth time.

Upon reaching the next planet, Erica threw up and Lisa nearly passed out. Neither had been more pleased to see Delta turn away from the Stargate altogether and start loping in the other direction. It was a bit of a hike up mountainous terrain, during which Jack extolled the joys of being alive and everyone else wished he'd shut up. May helped Lisa and Adria over the more unstable ground and Delta proved she was impatient enough to scale the cliff side. After walking single file through a narrow passage and edging down a steep pathway to the ground, Delta led them up a sloping hill. There was an ocean to what Erica guessed was east, across which glided several craft she again guessed were ships, although she'd never seen a ship like that before.

The hulls were pointed ovals of various types of wood, while the sails on the masts were made of interwoven leaves, each leaf roughly two school buses long and a bus and a half wide at the widest. They were too far away for their occupants to be seen, but whatever horns they were blowing were clearly audible.

"_Damn._" Cam said under his breath.

"Incredible." Daniel breathed.

May smiled at their reactions of reverent awe. Here was proof that the Sirians were just as intelligent as they, destroying forever the belief that their lifestyles indicated a kind of primitivism found in early societies. She couldn't wait to see their reaction once they got to the top of the hill.

"Hurry up!"

"We can't run as fast as you Caela Gemma. Patience, they'll catch up eventually." Adria replied. Lisa wasn't too far behind, panting at the climb. Delta pranced in circles like a dog that needed to go out. It took ten minutes for the rest of SG-1 to catch up, stunned speechless at the sight that greeted them.

It looked like a cross between a temporary village and a Renaissance fair. A group of staves had been plunged into the ground near the beach, and as the ships anchored and the inhabitants disembarked, three Sirians stepped forward and plunged their own staves in the midst of the others, leading their clans into the throng. A short walk from the staves were several large fires, over which a variety of meats were suspended, and a short distance from them were booths hosting edible vegetation. The merchants weren't far from them, but whatever it was they were selling was too hard to see. Tents containing their teachers, healers, and shamans were located much further from the vendors, merchants, and general noise. They gathered in small groups, wandering from tent to tent greeting each other and sharing information. Furthest from the beach was a patch of ground bare of vegetation, where larger Sirians engaged each other in violent, instinct-driven hand-to-hand combat. Looming into the sky behind the large gathering was a mountain of such proportions Erica's mind had difficulty comprehending it.

"Holy shit!"

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Jack replied.

"It was on this world the first Exile set paw, and it is to this world they return for the meeting of the Council. This is where their Empire was born, this is the seat of their government . . . this is the Sirian Dakara." May explained.

That got their attention. Calling this the Sirian Dakara illustrated its importance to the Sirian Empire, although it likely predated the actual Dakara by millennia.

By the time the others quit staring and started after them, May, Adria and Lisa were halfway down the hill, the latter two shooting each other dirty looks.

"That's going to be a problem." Vala said.

"Yeah. Lisa's a sweet girl but I honestly hope a guy catches her interest soon. Pursuing May will just hurt everyone."

"That's not a fight I want to be caught in the middle of." Sam muttered under her breath.

"I think we lost our Exile guide." Daniel said, glancing around for Delta.

"Indeed." Teal'c replied, gesturing to the alien tearing through the grass and top speed . . . and crashing into a fruit vendor. The noise coming from the area couldn't be anything but swearing.

May rifled through her bag before pulling something out.

"Is that what I think it is?" Jack asked, squinting.

"It is her flute. I didn't know she still had it."

The soft ethereal music floated to the large group of noisy Sirians and managed to silence all of them.

Adria caught a swaying Lisa, only for the completely placid V to start cuddling her. This was both awkward and out of her comfort zone, and it earned a laughing Cameron a flick between the eyes from Vala.

"Tenebris?"

"Help?"

"Come here Lisa."

If anything the blonde looked happier cuddling May, who turned to a still-laughing Cameron to state, "You know Cam, if you get hurt on this world you're stuck here until we leave. And the Sirians don't have anesthetics."

How she could say something like that with a light and sweet voice nobody knew, but it effectively silenced Cameron. The Sirians had made their dislike of him apparent since he took over leadership of SG-1. According to May, since Jack did not choose him as his successor nor did he defeat Jack in pitched combat, they would not recognize his authority. Instead they would turn to either Teal'c or Sam, the natural choices of successors due to both their seniority and combat prowess. If he got hurt here, the Sirians would find the slowest possible ways to fix it, assuming they fixed it at all.

Tramping down the hill, Daniel pointed out the large grey dragon that appeared to have been carved from rock, its ivory colored horns, claws and teeth gleaming in the sun. Its size rivaled the _Odyssey_, and Daniel wondered aloud what its purpose was.

"It's crafted very well." Daniel continued, glancing up at the overlapping scales on the dragon's body. On closer inspection, it looked more metallic. If the Sirians were metal workers, it spoke volumes about their intelligence.

"Daniel if you touch that and it breaks . . ." Sam warned him.

"I wonder what it's for?"

May took one glance at it before saying, "That's a ship Daniel."

There were a few moments of stunned silence before it was broken by Cam's audible, "_Damn!_"

"We're glad you approve." A sibilant voice replied, its owner a blue Sirian.

The Sirian flicked her tongue at them before introducing herself, "Greetings Tau'ri. The High Council appointed me as your guide for the duration of your stay on Izil."

"Easel?" Cameron asked in confusion. "Like what you put a canvas on?"

The Sirian rolled her eyes and hissed something under her breath before switching back to English, "The name I was given at birth is too complicated for human speech, nor does it have a simple translation in this tongue. Put simply, I am the pilot of the Dragon Ship_Gallifrey_."

"And what are we supposed to call you?" Cam asked. As per usual, he was ignored until Erica repeated the question.

"Gallifrey." She replied as though this fact should be obvious. "This ship is _Erebus_. Rasi May informed us of the Tau'ri's aversion to being dirty and apparent inability to survive without running water."

"Was that an insult?" Vala muttered to Sam, who merely shrugged.

"_Erebus_ has been temporarily equipped with such things, and if you like there are several empty quarters you can sleep in. We just have one rule: no sex onboard. The smell does things to us."

Daniel's triumphant grin slid off his face when Gallifrey continued, "Please note this rule only applies to ship. If you want sex you're free to have it so long as all parties consent. And by all parties I mean the ones interested in sex, not their harried parents or reluctant caretakers."

Daniel muttered angrily under his breath. Gallifrey rolled her eyes and muttered audibly, "Because you just can't help being a prudish moral guardian."

Vala choked down the ensuing giggles while the rest of them pretended not to see the look that passed between Adria and May. Gallifrey feigned ignorance and continued, "If you'll follow me, I'll show you where everything is including where you'll be sitting for the trial in the morning."

Even from the hilltop they had an idea what everything was, but Gallifrey threw in a few "fun facts" for every section:

"Every thousand days or so by the passing of this world's sun, Exiles make their way here from every part of the galaxy. Being so spread out exposes us to different environments, and we use the meeting of the Council to showcase them. The giant bonfires are for roasting meat, closest to the sea in case one gets out of control, the vendors over there have what you call fruits and vegetables, we don't eat grain unless we're desperate so there won't be any cake here O'Neill-"

Jack grumbled but wasn't surprised.

"Merchants display various items which you can trade for and at least six pairs of eyes will monitor your transactions. Healers, teachers and shamans are over there should any of you require their services, and I would avoid the pit if at all possible."

"The pit?" Erica asked, confused.

"The first of several trials to become High Councilor. The best fighters after five gatherings receive feral backing and proceed to other trials."

Erica just nodded and pretended she had some semblance of understanding. Gallifrey led them into the mountain itself, an impressive amphitheatre carved from solid rock and lit by crystals. The blue Sirian said the Empire was divided into roughly one hundred twenty Clans and showed them where they would be sitting: top row, far left if facing the room from the stage area. They'd have a good view of the room. Gallifrey said May had a standing invitation to attend any Clan's festival, including Council meetings, but _somebody_ (and here she shot Daniel a dirty look) never let her. The archeologist rolled his eyes and muttered about everything being his fault.

After the grand tour Gallifrey set them loose and vanished. They saw Delta a little later, clutching her giant bag of crystals with both hands and dragging a basket with her tail. She greeted SG-1 with a nod before something else caught her eye and she dug through the bag for the right crystal. At some point May had taken Lisa's hand and beckoned to Adria, the three heading in the direction of the Healers' tents.

"Mal Doran." A Sirian rasped, easily nine feet tall.

"Hello Gladius." Vala replied, pretending she was fine until the reddish-brown reptile was out of sight.

"You know him?" Cam asked.

"When I was host to Qetesh he tried to kill me."

After a minute of silence Jack clapped his hands together and said, "Okay then, who wants whatever they call dessert here?"

* * *

><p>May slid a tent flap aside and hissed to the occupant. The Sirian inside replaced the scroll and left the tent's confines, beckoning to the trio to follow. Lisa was told to sit on a pillow while the Healer placed two white crystals to her temples. The pair turned solid black and began smoking, turning so hot the Healer dropped them with a pained growl. Crystalfyre padded in and handed Lisa a cup of water before examining the crystals. A wide array of expressions crossed her face before settling on somebody about to deliver bad news.<p>

Adria's hand found May's shoulder and squeezed it as Crystalfyre approached.

"The crystals show signs of malnourishment, dehydration, emotional trauma and multiple invasive procedures at the physical and mental levels. When was the last time she spoke aloud, in any language?"

May thought about it, "Over a week."

Crystalfyre squeezed her eyes shut, "It is as I feared. The damage is too much for her to recover from; every day her higher reasoning skills lose ground to low instinct. She's going feral more quickly than I've ever seen. Her condition is beyond our skill to heal Rasi. The best we can do is find a world where she can live out the rest of her life alone, since her false skin would be her death among other ferals. I'm sorry."

She never answered, a chill passing through her body. Adria felt her skin grow cold, "May?"

The ground beneath her feet iced over and May broke her grip and fled.

"It's like the gods enjoy abusing her." Adria commented, watching her mate put as much distance between her and the gathering as possible.

"Indeed. The Thunder Rasi have much to answer for. Much of the hell this galaxy went through can be placed at their feet when they decided it was easier to flee a war of ideals and ignore the suffering of us mere mortals." Crystalfyre replied with a derisive hiss.

Orlithe's rage could blow up enough stars to shatter Sam's record beyond repair as she turned to the Ancients with burning eyes, "Yes they _damn_ well do!"

Morgan suffered a blow to the head that would have killed a human as the pissed Ilvar matriarch again sought Anubis, fully intending to kill him. The near-Ascended Goa'uld had enough strength to think _Not again_ before Orlithe's fingers closed around his throat and electricity was forced into his spectral form. As the assembled Ascended looked on, Thiadon made his way undetected to Izil to check on his granddaughter.

"Are you alright young one?"

"No Grandfather."

"Tell me what ails you."

And May explained everything, including a possible solution. Thiadon cursed under his breath, sparks dancing between his fingers.

"Let me see if I understand this." He began. "Lisa is a V, a normally emotionless genetic chimera. Her false feelings for your brother and you became real and she appears ready and willing to pursue you regardless of Adria. Your brother's death and the trauma that followed was the catalyst for the quickest feralization in Sirian memory and they can do nothing to stop it. You worry that her deteriorating mental state puts you, her, and everyone around her in danger, you fear nothing can be done to help her but you love her and cannot cut her out of your life, is that about right?"

"Yes Grandfather."

Thiadon drummed his fingers against folded arms, "Very well. Your solution won't be overly difficult to, pull off as the Tau'ri say. It might cause both of you pain, it's interference in the highest degree, and a large number of beings will be angry because of it, but it should work."

He began to pace back and forth, "A large group of crystals will be required, along with both my and Orlithe's Clans. If the Ori consent we can use their energy to power the ritual. I'm off to gather the necessary materials. And hopefully keep your grandmother from rendering Anubis into an Ascended drooling idiot. I'll be back in about three days."

May stared after the amethyst energy being until he vanished from sight. Lisa's nuzzling startled her back to reality, as did the accompanying brush against her mind. This time there were no words, only sensations: concern for her, an awareness that something was wrong, but confusion as to what it was. May wailed, throwing her arms around the surprised Visitor as it started to rain. The blonde stared at Adria in bewilderment, and the spice-scented female rolled her eyes and sent an image of her with her arms around May. Lisa did so, but it didn't seem to help much. She licked sweet-scented female's cheek, which only made the wailing louder.

May welcomed the feel of Adria's mind and her attempts to ease the pain, knowing how hard it was to know one reason for Lisa's condition was close enough to die by her hand and resist the impulse to break her neck.

A sense of dark amusement made itself known along with Adria's voice, _You have no idea Caela Gemma._

* * *

><p>Between May and Adria, the two were able to alter a crystal for Lisa, giving it enough power to forestall further damage and allow her to communicate through human speech. A few strips of something like leather made it a simple necklace.<p>

Lisa blinked a few times to clear the haze, remembering May taking her from the mothership and only fragments after that.

"Where are we?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Izil. It's where the Sirian High Council meets."

There was that word again, but she still didn't know what it meant. Seeing her confusion, May hissed something in the Old Sirian dialect. A creature emerged from behind a tent flap, easily seven feet in height, with sand colored scales, a velociraptor's head, and fierce yet intelligent yellow eyes. Lisa was struck by the sudden sense of kinship. She _knew_ this creature. Hell, she'd been this creature at some point!

"I know you." she said, keeping May in her field of vision as she waited for a reaction. She wasn't sure if she would try and protect May or hide behind her, but she kept her in sight.

The Sirian's pupil widened. She flicked her tongue at Lisa and replied, "I know you too."

"How?"

"We are kin you and I. Once our race was united, but my ancestors were exiled and yours . . . fell from grace."

Lisa bowed her head in shame. True, it wasn't her fault that they'd interbred with and then murdered multiple species in their quest to become a master species and take down the System Lords, but she had believed they were doing the right thing. No, what her mother _said_ was the right thing. Shaking her head slowly, she rubbed her temples and whined.

"Lisa?"

"I'm fine. Where's my mother?"

Nobody said anything. A sense of uneasiness stole through Lisa as she turned to May.

"May? Please?"

"In a holding cell. Her trial is in the morning."

Lisa nodded; she remembered hearing something about that.

"Is she . . . can she be turned? Feel emotions like I do?"

May glanced at Crystalfyre, who flicked her tongue and replied, "I've had no contact with her."

Lisa looked at May, taking in the pale complexion and red-rimmed watery eyes. She'd been crying, about her. Enfolding the redhead in her arms, she glanced at Adria and reached out telepathically. She shivered at the contact; Adria's mind was a place of fire and darkness, of power and knowledge far beyond her understanding.

_What's wrong with me?_

_You're going feral, more quickly than the Healers have seen. Your crystal will be helpful for a while, but unless the Ilvar help you your future is very bleak._

Lisa's grip tightened a little and she wished she'd never asked. Knowing that she was doomed to become the animal she was beneath her human skin, that she could hurt May, her family, her mate (and it hurt to acknowledge that) was scary as hell. Nuzzling May's cheek, she stepped back and asked, "How long?"

"A few days maybe?"

She nodded slowly before taking May's hand in hers.

* * *

><p>The strange little creature had run up with no warning, and Erica started nervously before remembering that nobody here was going to hurt her and she'd left her gun back on Earth anyway. Of course then she actually saw the animal in question and did a double take. It was a velociraptor. A tiny velociraptor, roughly the size of a cat, peering up at them with beady yellow eyes.<p>

"Oh no." Daniel murmured under his breath as the tiny raptor cautiously moved toward Erica and sniffed at her. Its blue and yellow feathers ruffled in the breeze as it cocked its head and made a sound that was part barking seal and part person choking.

"Uh, hi?"

A second little raptor, this one with reddish brown feathers, edged forward, sniffing and growling lightly at Vala. A sharp snap from the first raptor silenced it, but the second had to drag away a third to keep it from taking a chunk out of Cameron.

The yellow and blue one then stalked over to Jack and stared upward for a long time, sniffing at him, and Teal'c who had moved to stand next to him. Tilting its head again, it turned to the other two and barked at them before running after them.

"Oh no?" Erica asked Daniel, who was standing as though expecting the worst. Sam explained, "We ran across her pack during May's _Addams Family_ phase. She'd already seen Jurassic Park thanks to Jack, and she calls these little guys pygmy raptors. The yellow and blue feathered one answers to Wednesday."

"Okay then."

"They're telepathic pack hunters." She continued.

Erica's brain stopped working for a minute as Sam's words permeated it. Telepathic miniature velociraptors? How did dinosaurs get offworld anyway?

At that point, Wednesday returned along with twenty or so others, each one with a white sphere in each hand. Wednesday dropped the spheres at Jack's feet before running to the back of the line. The pile grew in size and it dawned on Erica what they were.

A raptor dropped one in Jack's outstretched hand and he stared at it disbelief.

"Golf balls?" he asked.

"Wasn't that the time May was trapped off world for three months?" Vala asked, cringing when she remembered the girl's mother was standing right there.

"WHAT?" Erica shouted.

Again Sam jumped in, this time to prevent bloodshed, "She'd gone to visit Delta for what we thought would be the night. Night turned into three months, and we found her later attending a festival in a Sirian village. I guess this pack was on Alaris or wherever you dialed when you were playing golf."

"They hit golf balls through the Stargate while my kid is offworld." Erica muttered under her breath.

"Well in our defense, I wasn't there, Daniel, Sam and Cam had no idea what was going on, so only Jack and Teal'c were worried." Vala said, receiving a glare in return.

"I know I don't own this many golf balls." Jack commented after the last raptor added to the pile. "How the hell am I gonna get all these back home?"

"Maybe a basket like Delta has?"

"I'll ask where she got it if we ever find her again."

Delta found them two hours later with a half empty animal skin bag and gladly pointed them to where she'd gotten her basket. Erica, who had yet to purchase anything, observed Jack and the merchant haggle over the price of one. He ended up with a good-quality basket in exchange for three crystal spheres, one red, one blue, and one green. The basket itself was lined with the skin of some mammalian creature, and big enough to hold the cache of golf balls. Wednesday rubbed her head and neck against Erica's leg, a sign of acceptance according to Daniel, barked at Vala, and gave Cameron a look that was the raptor equivalent of the evil eye.

"What did I do to make them hate me so much?" Cam asked in disbelief, staring after the retreating pack.

It was Vala who answered, "You are an outsider, a usurper, and a threat."

There were murmurs of agreement from the surrounding merchants, eying Cam with borderline hatred.

* * *

><p>Adria shook her head when Vala opened her mouth upon the trio's return. Nobody else seemed to notice; too busy staring at what was apparently dinner with expressions conveying equal parts interest, horror, and disgust.<p>

"What are we looking at?" Cameron voiced the thoughts of almost everyone. In the middle of a circle of large wooden bowls lay the smoked carcass of what looked like a ten-legged spider the size of a large dog, lying on its back with its legs curled up. It was, thankfully, headless, or some of them would have been sick. Shadowed by Adria and Lisa, May had gone looking for fruit, meaning one of them was gonna have to try this thing first.

The girls were back in time to see Erica rip a leg from the body and tear a chunk off of it. Her expression of surprise was amusing to watch, even after she washed the first bite down with a large gulp of water.

"Don't tell us, it tastes like chicken right?" Jack asked.

Erica shook her head, "No. Lamb."

"Are you serious?" Daniel asked, glancing doubtfully at the arachnoid.

Erica shot him an annoyed look, "Does it look like I'm joking Daniel?"

"Uh no."

Vala was the next to try it, face lighting up after a couple bites, "Well I've never had lamb, but if they taste this good on Earth . . ."

Adria's expression twisted in disgust. She didn't much care for giant arthropods, gladly accepting the softball sized fruit from May instead. The look on her face when she bit into it annoyed Adria; May was enjoying having the upper hand and whatever she'd just taken a bite of was so sour it made lemons seem mild by comparison. Stubborn, Adria ate the rest of it.

Lisa murmured in May's ear, "Why don't these taste as good as you smell?"

She shrugged, watching with amusement as Delta made off with the three remaining legs and left SG-1 staring at the carcass.

"Okay, what does this taste like?"

"We should decide quickly if we want any more." Teal'c advised. "Others are watching."

Sure enough, several pairs of yellow eyes observed from the darkness. Delta growled in their general direction, lifting the two remaining legs out of their reach. Wednesday barked, hopping closer to the carcass. A snarl from May and a hiss from Lisa put an end to that behavior, and Wednesday fled into the night.

"Do they sell knives or something here, or just use their claws and teeth?"

May pointed somewhere behind her, "That way."

Erica excused herself, heading in the direction of the merchants. When Jack had purchased his basket, the merchant in question did not speak English. Instead there was a lot of pointing, crystal offering, and wild hand gestures. Erica wondered if the Sirians found it as ridiculous as they did.

Finding a blade merchant, Erica did a double-take. These weren't traditional steel blades. These were _fangs_. Taken from something's _mouth_. Shuddering, she was about to greet the merchant when the lizard beat her to it.

"Can I help you Tau'ri?"

The thought _Oh thank God, he speaks English_ was quickly followed by the spoken, "What . . . what _are_ these?"

Realizing she sounded like an idiot she attempted to negate her mistake, "I mean, I think they're blades of some sort right? They look like teeth. Where'd they come from?"

"Deadly predators. These straight ones come from," and the ash grey Sirian hissed what Erica guessed were the animals from which they came. There were three varieties on display: straight ones, curved ones, and ones that looked like shark's teeth.

"Any of these come from Sirians?"

The Sirian cocked his head, "Our own teeth are too small to be much use as a blade. What sort of blade are you looking for?"

"We've got the carcass of something, about this big," Erica measured out the length with her arms, "It had ten legs, if that helps, and it was smoked."

The Sirian hissed something else, glancing at a few of the blades.

"What exactly are we eating anyway?"

"The closest translation in this tongue is ten-leg-poison-tooth. Call it whatever you wish, it makes no difference to me. Given the size of the beast in question, I recommend one of these," and he gestured to some curved fangs about the length of her forearm, "The outside curve has been sharpened to better cut through flesh, comes with what you call a sheath so you don't cut off something important by accident, and from what I understand of the Tau'ri it would make a good conversation starter."

Erica almost choked. No way would she be allowed to carry this thing off the base! Although part of her entertained the thought of a giant fang hanging over the mantle, anyone she told about it would be caught in the crossfire between curious Vs and memory-altering devices wielded by members of Stargate Command. Though with the sheath, it would probably escape notice . . . She started pawing through her crystals, examining each one minutely for flaws before replacing it. Nearly slicing her hand open on a bright orange crystal, she offered it to the Sirian and waited. The grey reptile examined the crystal minutely before deeming it a suitable match. He sheathed the blade and handed it to her before inclining his head. She returned the gesture before returning to the still smoking carcass, drawing the blade, and with Vala's help carved it into manageable portions.

The first words out of Jack's mouth after a bite were a sarcastic, "Why do the legs taste like lamb and the body taste like fish?"

"I like it." Cam protested with his mouth full. The scandalous looks from May and Adria made him close his mouth. Lisa seemed not to notice and gladly ate as much of the carcass as she could. She stilled when May's hand settled on her arm before turning and giving her an affectionate nuzzle. Adria's eyes narrowed, sending a sharp telepathic jab at Lisa along with a possessive _Mine!_

Lisa hissed at her, tail curling around May's arm.

"Behave you two." May said sternly, ignoring Adria's flickering orange eyes and Lisa's slitted reptilian ones. The Visitor seemed more willing to push her boundaries, tail winding higher and constricting around May's arm. May growled at her, again feeling her instinct submit. Lisa's tail slid limply from her arm and landed on the ground between them.

Adria watched from the corner of her eye but didn't comment. Though May appeared fine on the surface, Adria could still sense her pain over Lisa. At the moment the V had two personalities: the "human" who wanted to be May's mate for the rest of their lives, and the Visitor whose intentions were not as clear. She knew that after mating a Visitor Queen ate her unfortunate partner to nourish her unborn young, but no one was really sure if a Queen had ever taken a female as a mate, never mind what happened after.

If she was honest with herself, the mere presence of Lisa was starting to get on her nerves. She knew she had no reason to be concerned, that May was _her_ mate, but she couldn't dismiss the feeling that Lisa was a rival. Lisa was certainly aware of it, mentally staking a claim but unable to back it up physically. And from her seat on May's left she had a good view of where Adria had bitten her. In Lisa's mind this meant she belonged to Adria, and there were harsh punishments for courting an obviously attached being. Unless May left her for Lisa, the V had no chance with her.

She squeezed May's hand, countering the remaining chill with her own warmth and trying to catch her eye.

_Are you alright?_

_Not really._ She replied, moving closer. Relaxing into Adria's side (and ignoring Lisa's whining) she wrapped her arms around her and drew what comfort she could from her presence. Vala tried to kick Daniel to shut him up but missed and kicked a pygmy raptor instead. It sailed through the air squealing, an action that saw Delta pursuing it and slapping it to the ground. When the raptor quit shaking its head, Delta shoved the last arachnoid leg into its claws and curled up next to Erica.

Gallifrey appeared from nowhere and led them all back to _Erebus_, showing them their rooms for the night. Erica was impressed with the hammock; she'd been expecting a pile of hay. There was even a blanket and a pillow, and it was quiet comfortable after a week in a sleeping bag. She fell asleep almost immediately.

Lisa curled up in her own room, falling asleep to May stroking her hair. She didn't feel the kiss May dropped on her temple before taking Adria's hand and leaving the ship. The half-Ori led her to a sheltered clearing in a copse of trees, a blanket covered pile of hay near the edge of it. There was a small fire burning in the middle, a bowl of fruits and a decanter of water nearby, and in the silence May let the tension drain from her body.

"We used to dance, when you lived on the Ori ships. I would be irritated, or angry, or unhappy upon my return, but then I would see you, see how happy you were to see me, and my own discomfort would fade away. I would take you in my arms and we would spin around my room, or stand still and rock back and forth. Do you remember?" Adria asked softly from behind her, squeezing her shoulders. May leaned into her touch with a whimper.

"Yes . . . I remember." She was quiet as she took in the clearing before breaking the silence, "Did you do all this for me?"

Adria grinned at her and nodded.

"When? You haven't left my side long enough to talk to anyone."

Pulling the unresisting Ilva into her embrace, she whispered in her ear, "You aren't the only one who can teleport."

**And that's chapter 23. Next time, Anna's trial.**


End file.
